After a childhood upended by W.W. II, David Medalla returned to Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, and set up shop in his family home in the Ermita district, transforming it into an eclectic art studio and salon. It was 1955 and the idea was avant-garde. Medalla invited friends to participate in poetry readings and performances, and called the house “La Cave d’Angley.” Two years later, he held his first exhibition there, a collection of multi-media creations, before setting sail to Europe in 1960. Medalla would live between Paris and London. He died in 2020, at age 78, leaving behind countless kinetic sculptures, paintings, and installations. The Hammer Museum celebrates the late artist with the first comprehensive David Medalla solo show in the U.S. —Elena Clavarino