CURRENT EXHIBITION
DORF Presents
Infernal Rebirth into Hell: Illusions and Realities
A Solo Presentation of New Work by Intel Lastierre, Inaugural Fellowship in Professional Practice (FiPP) recipient.
This timely exhibition challenges the myth of the American Dream by highlighting the lived experiences of Filipino immigrants, revealing how promises of opportunity, safety, and freedom often give way to struggles shaped by exclusion, surveillance, exploitation, and systemic inequality.
Intel Lastierre, The Paradox of Arrival, 2025, oil on linen, 65” x 40”, image courtesy of the artist and DORF.
“Like prisoners chained in darkness, many immigrants face illusions that become their entire reality, only to discover that the “light” outside is sometimes another form of confinement.”
Opening Reception:
Friday, September 26, 2025 | 6-10 pm
Exhibition Dates:
September 26 – January 31, 2026
Location:
DORF at Zilker Point, 218 South Lamar Blvd., Suite 140, Austin, TX 78704
Open Saturdays:
12:00–5:00 PM
DORF is proud to present Infernal Rebirth into Hell: Illusions and Realities, a solo exhibition by Inaugural DORF Fellowship in Professional Practice artist Intel Lastierre that reimagines Plato’s Allegory of the Cave as a lens into the complex, often painful journey of Filipino immigrants pursuing the American Dream.
Through large-scale paintings, sculptures, and immersive installations, Lastierre explores this paradoxical descent, revealing how dreams of opportunity are often met with persistent structures of poverty, labor exploitation, racial discrimination, and inequality.
At the heart of the exhibition is Balikbayan: Boxes of Longing, a monumental installation of sixteen stacked balikbayan boxes—containers traditionally used by overseas Filipino workers to send goods home to their families. Inspired by Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa, the work becomes a powerful collective portrait of diaspora, survival, and the entrapment of immigrant lives within global systems of capitalism, migration, and displacement.
Infernal Rebirth into Hell also examines the dual role of resilience in Filipino culture. While resilience has sustained survival, it can also suppress resistance and uphold the very systems that cause suffering. Rather than offering easy answers, the exhibition raises urgent questions: What illusions have we mistaken for truth? Whose dreams are celebrated, and whose pain is overlooked? What kind of future are we creating together?
“Infernal Rebirth into Hell reveals the imperial paradox of the immigrant experience. In the midst of oppressive governments both here and at home, Lastierre’s work represents those who reject the capacity to suffer as a solution for systemic exploitation.”
–Regine Malibiran, Inaugural DORF Curatorial Fellow
Intel Lastierre, Paradise of Terrestrial Pleasures, 2023, oil on canvas, 109” x 59”, image courtesy of the artist and DORF.
Intel Lastierre, Devouring the Dream, 2025, air dry clay, synthetic teeth, U.S passport prop, acrylic paint and transparent suitcase, 12” x 12” x 4 ½”, image courtesy of the artist and DORF.
Auxiliary Programming:
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: TEACH-IN AND ACTION
November 20, 2025 | 6:00-8:00 pm
In solidarity with the Tanggol Migrante Movement, DORF will host a Know Your Rights: Teach-in and Action on Thursday, November 20th from 6:00-8:00 pm at DORF. Attendees will learn more about the historic and current issues that migrants face, how to exercise their rights when interacting with law enforcement, and what they can do to protect vulnerable communities. Following the teach-in, attendees can take immediate action by participating in Tanggol Migrante’s current campaigns to support currently detained Filipinos.
ARTIST TALK
December 6, 2025 | 6:30-8:00 pm
Come walk the gallery with artist Intel Lastierre as she shares the stories and ideas behind Infernal Rebirth into Hell. Through her own words, Lastierre will reflect on the illusions of the American Dream, the realities of migration and labor, the impact of surveillance and exclusion, and the strength—and limits—of resilience in Filipino culture. This is a unique chance to experience the exhibition up close, ask questions, and connect with the themes of hope, struggle, and survival that shape immigrant lives today.
ART WRITING WORKSHOP
January 22, 2026 | 6:00-8:00 pm
On Thursday, January 22, 2026, from 6:00-8:00 pm DORF inaugural Curatorial Fellow Regine Malibiran will lead an art writing workshop designed for artists, curators, and cultural programmers who recognize their own work as a tool of progress and coalition building. The workshop will expand upon the foundations of art writing to incorporate visual analysis, historical and political context, and personal voice to craft statements that not only describe but advocate.
Intel Lastierre, Paradox of Resiliency (detail), 2025, oil on canvas, image courtesy of the artist and DORF.
ARTIST AND CURATOR BIOS
Inaugural DORF Fellow in Professional Practice, Intel Lastierre, image courtesy of the artist and DORF.
Intel Lastierre
Intel Lastierre is a multidisciplinary artist whose work challenges the selective malleability of justice through oil painting, installations, and photography. Lastierre interprets folklore, mythology, and the dynamic between predator and prey to chronicle human rights issues from the perspective of a Filipino woman who has lived under government censorship and imperial exploitation. By twisting biomorphic forms and juxtaposing the grotesque with the beautiful, Lastierre strives to subvert structures of power, mirroring depictions of a dystopian present with the potential of a utopian future.
Born in the Philippines and currently based in San Marcos, Texas. Lastierre’s artistic journey began with her studies in architecture, engineering, photography and art history. Her multidisciplinary background enriches her creative approach, enabling her to experiment with form, texture, and storytelling. In 2014, she co-founded the House of Frida Gallery in Bacolod City, Philippines.
Lastierre’s work has been featured in exhibitions across the Philippines and the United States, with shows in Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, San Marcos, Austin, Houston, and Los Angeles. Since 2023, she has volunteered at the San Marcos Studio Tour. Her artistic practice continues to evolve, rooted in her commitment to human rights advocacy and the creation of transformative futures.
In 2024, she served as a panelist for Austin’s Art in Public Places program, and in 2025, she became a member of the ICOSA Collective Gallery in Austin. Lastierre is the inaugural Fellow in Professional Practice (FIPP) and a recipient of the Spring 2025 Artist Leadership Fellowship from Mid-America Arts Alliance, where she serves as a professional development facilitator.
Founding Executive Director and Curator at DORF, Sara Vanderbeek, image courtesy DORF.
Sara Vanderbeek
Sara Vanderbeek Sara Vanderbeek is an award-winning transdisciplinary artist, curator, and advocate for sustainability and affordability in arts infrastructure, based in Austin, Texas. Her work explores themes of place, artist motherhood, mental health, and trauma, and has been exhibited at The Contemporary Austin, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles, Co-Lab Projects, and NYC Crit Club.
As Founding Executive Director and Curator of DORF, she has developed exhibitions and programs that foreground underrepresented voices and situate them within broader cultural conversations. Her curatorial approach balances critical inquiry with accessibility, and as an independent consultant, she has shaped major public art collections for institutions including the Texas Municipal Retirement System and University Health, with a focus on investing in Texas-based artists to strengthen local and regional economies. She was a founding member and board president of ICOSA Collective and is an active facilitator for professional development programs through Mid-America Arts Alliance.
Her artwork is held in numerous collections internationally, and her work has received support from the City of Austin Economic Development Department, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Christie’s Auction House, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. Vanderbeek holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and she began her career at Christie’s Auction House in New York where she gained professional training in art appraising, cataloguing, and sales.
Regine Malibiran, Inaugural DORF Curatorial Fellow, image courtesy of the artist and DORF, photo by Timothy Ogunlowo
Regine Malibiran
Regine Malibiran is the inaugural DORF Curatorial Fellow, an integral role that provides guidance on the conceptual, thematic, and programmatic development of an exhibition or project, offering expertise, perspective, and critical feedback to strengthen the curatorial vision and ensure cultural and contextual resonance.
As a writer, community builder, and curator, Regine connects marginalized people through stories and experiences to strengthen collective power.
Regine was born in Manila, Philippines. Raised by a multigenerational village, she pursues her work with the belief that it takes collaboration, compassion, and a lot of nerve to move each other forward. She currently serves as the Associate Curator and Exhibit Coordinator at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, producing exhibitions and programs like the Small Black Museum Residency Project with the objective of expanding access and redefining what’s possible for the Black creative community in Texas. In 2023 Regine founded forth space productions, an arts services agency, to present a vision of success through solidarity. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with degrees in English and Public Relations. Regine also loves cats, trying new food, and the em dash.
About FiPP:
The DORF Fellowship in Professional Practice (FiPP) is a year-long mentorship program–beginning with professional development training and culminating with an end-of-year exhibition–designed to guide an artist through every step of planning, producing, curating, and marketing their solo exhibition at DORF. In January 2025, Intel Lastierre, the inaugural FiPP artist joined the 2025 Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) Artist Leadership Fellowship (ALF) cohort. This nomination-based, transformative program hones the professional skills of emerging artist leaders across the region, offering unparalleled growth and networking opportunities. The FiPP artist receives a $5,000 honorarium from DORF and an additional $500 from M-AAA to help support their work.
Parking:
Paid parking is available in the Zilker Point garage (near DORF entrance on Toomey Road) at $5/hour (max $30). Additional public paid parking is available along Toomey Road west of the building.
Accessibility
ADA accessible parking is available at Zilker Point garage, with elevator access to DORF. DORF is also accessible via S. Lamar Blvd’s sidewalks.
DORF’s gallery is wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly. Onsite restrooms are wheelchair accessible with baby changing stations.
Service animals and friendly animals of most kinds are welcome at DORF!
Please check in at the Reception Desk or email us with questions or for assistance.
DORF:
218 South Lamar Blvd.
Suite 140
Austin, Texas, 78704.
ABOUT DORF
DORF was founded in 2018 with a mission to build a village of artists, advocates, and innovators. DORF’s values of openness, intention, expression, and community have guided its programming, which includes exhibitions that tackle social justice, amplify marginalized voices, and foster meaningful dialogues.
We have received recognition in publications like Texas Monthly, Sightlines Magazine, The Austin Chronicle, Glasstire, Southwest Contemporary, and more, and received “Best New Experimental Art Gallery” in The Austin Chronicle.
For more information, contact us at dorf@dorfworld.org.
Acknowledgements
This project has been financed in part by the City of Austin’s Elevate Grant Program.
This program is supported in part by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Austin Economic Development Department, and Mid-America Arts Alliance.
