Exhibit focuses on entries created during pandemic

CONTINUING its mission to support and develop local talent in the contemporary art scene, the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) will hold its annual benefit auction next month.

Historically breaking records with million-peso bids, all proceeds from the annual fundraiser — slated on March 9 at the Leon Gallery — will benefit the ACC Philippine Fellowship Program. The artist-fellows will then embark on cultural exchange projects in the United States or within Asia.

Now on its 9th year, the public sale will feature the works of painter and sculptor Juan Luna, impressionist painter Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, abstract artist José Joya, and portraitist Fernando Amorsolo and his fellow National Artist cubist illustrator Vicente Manansala, among other renowned Filipino masters.

Over 184 paintings, sculptures, and pieces of furniture will be up for grabs, a few of which were part of the personal collection of former ABS-CBN chairman emeritus Eugenio “Geny” Lopez, Jr., along with some owned by art aficionados who personally knew the artists.

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

In a press conference on Monday in Makati, the ACC highlighted four artworks that can be had by the highest bidder.

Anita Magsaysay-Ho’s 1990 painting Planting Rice will be among the pieces on the auction block. The 36” x 30” oil on canvas depicting three women tolling at a rice field is now considered a “rare find.” Ms. Magsaysay-Ho, a student of Mr. Amorsolo, is famous for emphasizing the beauty of Filipino women in ordinary settings.

The 63-year-old Yellow Abode by former ACC grantee and pioneering artist and educator Joya was also on display. Mr. Joya’s masterful texture and composition are expected entice discerning collectors.

Leon Gallery Director Jaime Ponce De Leon said he considered the early 1960 as the best years for the printmaker, mixed media artist, and former dean of the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines.

“The early ’60s would be the best output of Joya, the best pieces that could ever be found. Collectors really prize this period very much,” he said.

Roberto Chabet, acknowledged as the father of conceptual art in the country, and the founding Museum Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, will also be showcased in the auction. One of the pieces from his 1965 Windows series will be in the spotlight.

A work by National Artist Arturo Luz, a pioneer of Filipino modernism, will further bolster the lineup. A piece from his acrylic in canvas Bottles series, was the “youngest” of the four highlighted paintings during the press conference.

GRANTEES

Proceeds from the auction will support the council’s projects, whose goal is to carefully nurture and mentor the next generation of Filipino artists.

“We are working to have as many grantees as possible, which is why we formed the Philippine branch,” ACC President Ma. Isabel Ongpin said.

The three recipients of the 2023 ACC grant will kick off their fellowships this year.

Choreographer and art educator Japhet Mari Cabling will study contemporary dance practices in the United States while multi-disciplinary artist and seasoned sound designer Corrine De San Jose will research contemporary sound art and public art around New York City. Maria Christine Muyco, a composer and ethnomusicologist, will launch a series of workshops in New York on song cycles in Southeast Asia.

Established in 1963, the ACC has supported over 300 artists, scholars, and professionals across various art disciplines, including performing arts, visual arts, archaeology, and curatorship.

The roster of ACC grantees boasts of nine National Artists, namely Mr. Joya, Lucresia Kasilag, Lamberto Avellana, Alejandro Roces, Francisco Feliciano, Jose Maceda, Kidlat Tahimik, Ramon Santos, and Alice Reyes.

Open bidding for the artworks will start at 2 p.m. on March 9. —

FOR Shell Pilipinas Corp.’s 57th National Students Art Competition (NSAC), the theme “‘Lika na, Likha pa ng Obra” encourages the youth to continue cultivating the arts to lead the country to a brighter tomorrow.

“Shell NSAC was born in 1951 from a simple and yet profound promise to make art more accessible, to empower young artists, and to contribute to nationbuilding … A lot of things have changed over the years, but that has remained constant,” Lorelie Quiambao-Osial, Shell Pilipinas’ president and chief executive officer, said at the launch of this year’s competition in the National Museum on Feb. 26.

She added that, since 2024 is also the corporation’s 110th anniversary, it is important to acknowledge how Shell has “witnessed the growth, the struggles, the pain, and the triumphs of our nation.”

“Throughout this journey, we’ve understood the power of art to move, to inspire, and to shape a brighter future,” Ms. Quiambao- Osial said.

Thus, the competition’s launch this year was accompanied by the opening of NSAC’s very first exhibit at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila.

Titled “Onwards and Upwards: Revelation on Filipino Resilience and Excellence Through Shell National Students Art Competition Artworks,” it features the winning artworks from 2020 to 2023.

Painter Renato Habulan, the curator of the exhibit, said that it is a necessary undertaking to document “a very significant era in our time.”

“The pandemic defined a certain period of our history where Filipinos were challenged to develop their talents in a time of uncertainty,” he told BusinessWorld. “There was a decline in young artists’ sources of inspiration.” As he toured visitors around the exhibit on its opening day, he noted how the 2020 and 2021 entries were mostly introspective and pandemic-related, with the subject matter slowly moving outward to society as a whole in 2023.

At the center of the exhibition hall is a timeline on the history of Shell NSAC, including its various winners over the years, serving as motivation for young artists.

Many of the student winners through the art tilt’s 57 years went on to earn great acclaim. Among them are Juvenal Sansó (3rd Prize, oil painting, 1951 Shell NSAC), Jose Joya (1st Prize, oil painting, 1952 Shell NSAC), National Artist Ang Kiukok (3rd Prize, oil painting, 1955 Shell NSAC), National Artist Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera (2nd Prize, oil painting, 1962 Shell NSAC), Luis Yee, Jr. (Finalist, Sculpture Category, 1967 Shell NSAC), Ronald Ventura (1st Prize, Oil/Acrylic Category, 1990 Shell NSAC), Rodel Tapaya (1st Prize, Oil/Acrylic Category, 2001 Shell NSAC), and Leeroy New (2nd Prize, Sculpture Category, 2004 and 2006 Shell NSAC).

This year’s competition welcomes students’ works in the following categories: oil/acrylic, watercolor, sculpture, digital fine arts, and photography.

Applicants can submit their entries from Feb. 26 to Sept. 25. For more information on the contest mechanics, visit http://tinyurl.com/3zvhvpuh

“Onwards and Upwards: Revelation on Filipino Resilience and Excellence Through Shell National Students Art Competition Artworks” runs until Aug. 25 at the National Museum of Fine Arts’ Sandiganbayan Reception Hall, in Manila. —