GROUP 1

10 works of art of Filipino artist with their

background information and their brief history
José Joya (1931-1995)
A Filipino pioneer of Abstract expressionism, multi-
media painter José Joya uses bold and vibrant colors
with a variety of painting techniques, layering, loose
impasto strokes and controlled drips. His harmonious
colors are influenced by Philippine landscapes and
tropical wildlife. His mastery lies in gestural
paintings, where the paint is applied spontaneously on
canvas, sometimes directly out of the tube or through
the use of broad strokes with brushes.
Golden Friendship By Jose Joya
Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972)
Labelled the country’s first National Artist in 1972 by then
President Marcos, Fernando Amorsolo is often known as the
‘Grand Old Man of Philippine Art’. The Spanish-trained realist
developed a backlighting technique, where his colorful
depictions of local people reflect the radiance of the Philippine
sun. The figures and illuminated landscapes magically glow on
the canvas. Despite his deteriorating health and failing
eyesight, he remained prolific until the end, producing up to
10 paintings a month until his death at the age of 80.
Amorsolo’s creativity defines the nation’s culture and heritage
to this day.
The Fruit Gatherer

The main meaning of the

Fruit Gatherer painted by
Fernando Amorsolo is to be
sure you recognize and
appreciate the small things. It
represents a hard worker who
is often not appreciated.
Ang Kiukok (1935-2005)
Born to Chinese immigrants, Ang Kiukok is the pioneer of
Philippine modern figurative expressionism. Rewarded as the
country’s National Artist in 2001, he was one of the most
successful commercial figures on the local art scene from the
1960s until his death from cancer in 2005. Like Amorsolo, his
paintings are popular at auctions and have received exceptionally
high bids at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
 “Fishermen” is a painting by Ang Kiukok, A Filipino artist from Chinese descent and
was a National Artist for Visual arts and is considered as one of the leading
exponents of Philippine figurative expressionism. The painting shows people
working and struggling together to catch fish. While the background adds an
emphatic symbol of constancy and perpetual energy.
Agnes Arellano (1949-present)
Born to a family of prominent male architects, sculptress
Agnes Arellano is best known for her surrealist and
expressionist work in plaster, bronze and cold-cast marble.
Her sculptures highlight the female body and draw from
themes surrounding sexuality, religion, and mysticism.
Borrowing from the term of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins,
Agnes attributes her work to ‘inscapes’, that assert an internal
unity among various elements in her installations and
sculptures. Drawing from the tragic death of her parents and
sister from a house fire in 1981, her work explores themes of
creation and destruction, and the cycles of life from birth to
death.
Three Buddha Mothers Veste, Dea, Lola
Three Buddha Mothers: Vesta,
Dea, Lola” by Agnes Arellano,
1996 “Three Buddha Mothers”
(Tatlong Buddhang Ina) is a
cold-cast marble sculpture by
Agnes Arellano representing
the traditional life cycle of
women: maiden, wife, and crone
(cycles of birth, life, and death).
Eduardo Masferré (1909-1995)

Further north of Baguio, in the mountainous province of

Sagada, Eduardo Masferré was born to a Filipino mother and
Spanish soldier. He is regarded as the Father of Philippine
photography. He documented with great detail the everyday
lives of indigenous people of the Cordilleras. The self-taught
photographer processed his own film in a makeshift darkroom
and managed to even produce prints without electricity. His
photographs capture the culture of the people in his community
and serve as a documentation of their customary practices and
rituals.
He describes himself as a “custodian” and his
work as “creatures of memory”. His multi-
faceted skills in drawing, sculpture,
installations, photography, printmaking, and
collages question modernity. His works
reflect the importance of space and how the
displacement of ordinary objects can alter
their meaning.
Pacita Abad 1946 - 2004
Among other things, Pacita Abad is renowned
for her eccentric use of color in her paintings.
Some other unique features of her paintings
included underwater scenes, along with wild
animals and tropical flowers. She managed to
highlight the constant changes and
developments going on in the world around her.
Her paintings are a reflection of her travels all
over the world
Underwater Wilderness by Pacita Abad
Napoleon Abueva 1930 - 2018

One of the youngest recipients of the National

Artist for Sculpture title in the year 1976. Among
other things, Abueva is known as the Father of
Modern Philippine Sculpture. He is credited for
shaping the art of sculpture in his country. Abueva
used numerous types of material to create sculpture
masterpieces including marble, bronze, iron,
stainless steel, hard wood, cement, adobe,
coral and alabaster. Among one of his early
innovation in his field was “buoyant sculpture”.
Kaganapan (1953)

He sculpted it out of marble in 1952, while

he was still studying at the University of
the Philippines. Some sources also say this
sculpture was crafted in 1953. This
sculpture won the grand prize in the Arts
Association of the Philippines' annual
competition. With a dimension of 91.44
cms. Kaganapan literally interprets the
female reproductive function as a
fulfillment for women. It is included in
Abueva's own collection.
Victorio Edades 1895 - 1995

Victorio Edades was a revolutionary artist,

who was the leader of the Thirteen
Moderns, a group of artists who believed
and promoted Modernism in artwork. A
traveling exhibition from the New York
Armory Hall was what inspired Edades to
follow and appreciate modern art.
 The Builders

Victorio Edades shows figures and the complexity of the men, which is
in heavy brush strokes, at work in the painting. It shows a realistic scene
that despite having peers around, each man is working on their own in
their own work.
 Vicente Manansala

Vicente Manansala was a prodigious artist who

received a six-month grant from UNESCO and
was invited to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
in Quebec, Canada. He is most commonly
known for his Cubist paintings,
prints and illustration. He was a member of
the Thirteen Moderns, which was led by Victorio
Edades. As a neo-realist, he became one of the
few artists who were responsible for
the modernist movement in the country.
Madonna of the Slums (1950)

The Madonna and child figure acquires an

essential simplicity and austere purity. The
central figure conveys a presence that consists of
the combination of vulnerability in the lack of
social embellishments, and dignity and solidity
in the broadly structured lines.
 Guillermo Tolentino

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino, is most famous for

his work The Bonifacio Monument, which
became the symbol of the freedom struggle of
the Philippines. He was said to be a product of
the Filipino Art’s revival period of the early and
mid-20th century. He was also credited for
making the statues of President Quezon and
various other life-size busts and marble statues
of important figures in the history of
Philippines.
Bonifacio Monument
Is a group sculpture of numerous figures massed around
a central obelisk. The principal figure is Andres
Bonifacio, leader of the 1896 Philippine Revolution.
Behind him and beneath the flag stands Emilio Jacinto.
On both sides the Katipunero brandish their bolo in a
call to arms. Behind the figure of Bonifacio, at the
opposite side of the obelisk, are the hooded figures of
the three martyred priests Mariano Gomez, Jose
Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, whose execution gave
birth to nationalism. These are followed in sequence by
the initiation rites into the revolutionary secret society
of the Katipunan, a dying woman with an infant
reaching for her breast, and the man with clenched fist
upraised beside the Katipunero figure, which completes
the movement back to Bonifacio.