14 National Artists in one exhibit
IN celebration of National Arts Month, the BPI Foundation is showcasing works from 14 of the 17 National Artists for Visual Arts until May 19 in its Images of Nation exhibit at the third floor galleries of the Ayala Museum in Makati City.
“We want to democratize art for Filipinos,” Maricris San Diego, executive director of the BPI Foundation, said of the exhibit at a media event on Feb. 6 at the museum.
“Since last year, the BPI Foundation has been taking a more active role in supporting the flourishing local art scene. While this primarily entails the maintenance of the BPI’s art collection, we believe our part also includes educating the public about art appreciation and inspiring creative talents through exhibits that demonstrate our cultural wealth,” she was quoted as saying in a press release.
The works showcased during the exhibit’s run are all part of the BPI art collection, a collection of more than a thousand paintings and sculptures.
“The objective is to promote and inspire, especially our young students. The educational system [is] so complex that not many of them get exposed to arts and culture as they should,” Mariles Gustilo, director of the Ayala Museum, said in the same event.
The exhibit is curated by Kenneth Esguerra, senior curator and conservation head of the museum.
The Order of National Artists (Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) is the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts. Awards are given in Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film, Broadcast Arts, and Architecture and Allied Arts.
The award was created via Proclamation No. 1001 in April 2, 1972 by President Ferdinand E. Marcos and was first conferred (posthumously) to Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo.
The exhibit features works by Fernando Amorsolo, Arturo Luz, Vicente Manansala, Ang Kiukok, Abdulmari Asia Imao, Victorio Edades, Napoleon Abueva, Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Jose Joya, Botong Francisco, J. Elizalde Navarro, Cesar Legaspi, Hernando Ocampo, and Federico Aguilar Y. Alcuaz (it does not have pieces by cartoonists Francisco Coching and Larry Alcala, and sculptor Guillermo Tolentino).
In all, 45 works of art are on view in the exhibit. These include an untitled BenCab from 1995 featuring three women; a 1965 Edades painting of a church; a 1973 Sarimanok sculpture by Imao; a 1988 painting called Baguio Weekend by Joya; and an undated Juggler painting by Luz.
Images of Nation runs until May 19 at the Ayala Museum, Makati Ave. corner De La Rosa St., Greenbelt Park, Makati City. For more information, visit the Ayala Museum’s website. —