Ang Kiukok

Ang Kiukok was a Filipino painter who attained prominence for his distinct portrayal of cubist, surrealist and expressionist concepts. He was named a National Artist for Visual Arts in 2001 for his figurative expressionist style. Ang Kiukok was known for his non-mainstream portrayals of the mother and child and the crucifixion of Christ.

He was one of the most dynamic figures in the Philippine art scene from the 60s until his death in 2005.

Ang Kiukok was born in Davao City on 1 March 1931 to Chinese parents, Vicente Ang and Chin Lim. He had four children with his wife, Mary de Jesus.

Ang's father wanted to name his son Hua Shing, meaning "Chinese-born", but decided to look for a new name when he found out that his cousin's son had been given the same name. Anxious about China's fate against the Manchurians who were invading the land, his father named him Kiukok, meaning "Save the Country".

Ang's artistry began at an early age. Even before he reached his teen years, he began drawing people using styles that were commonly seen in magazines and comics.

From 1952 to 1954, he took up Art Studies courses at the University of Santo Tomas. He studied under mentors like Vicente Manansala, Victorio Edades, Diosdado Lorenzo, Jose Garcia Llamas, Galo Ocampo and Virginia Ty.

He taught at an overseas Chinese art school for five years despite leaving school a year short of finishing his degree.

Ang was among the many Filipino artists who have managed to showcase their talent in different countries all over the world. Many of his works were exhibited in various displays held in Saigon, Tokyo, Taipeo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

The works that he produced during the Martial Law Period represented nationalist images and various sociological concepts.

source: wikipilipinas

Ben "BenCab" Cabrera

Benedicto Reyes Cabrera [born April 10, 1942], better known as "BenCab", is a Filipino painter and was awarded National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts [Painting] in 2006. He has been noted as "arguably the best-selling painter of his generation of Filipino artists.

BenCab was born to Democrito Cabrera and Isabel Reyes in Malabon, Philippines on April 10, 1942. He was the youngest of nine children. BenCab's first exposure and discovery of the arts happened through his elder Brother Salvador, who was already an established artist during Bencab's childhood.

He went on to study at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, where he explored different art visual forms - photography, draftsmanship, printmaking - while honing his chosen craft as a painter. He received his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in 1963.

BenCab met British writer Caroline Kennedy in 1966, and eventually married her in 1969. The couple decided to stay in London, where their three children were eventually born. The eldest, Elisar, was born in 1971 and is now a filmmaker based in London; Mayumi was born in 1973 and is now a model and actress living in Los Angeles; the youngest, Jasmine was born in 1977 and is now a London-based fashion stylist.

Bencab's first years as a painter in London "were not particularly easy", but his talents were immediately recognized. Over the next four decades, he established for himself a name of international importance, holding exhibitions from London to New York to Macau, and winning several major art awards in a career spanning four decades.

When BenCab returned to the Philippines in 1972, he was hailed as a Filipino pioneer of the arts and a significant influence among his peers. However, he returned to London once more in 1974, partly to get away from the tightening grip of Martial Law, which Ferdinand Marcos had declared in 1972. That event is said to have "marked the beginning of [BenCab]'s passionate involvement with social commentary and the topics of repression and freedom.

In 1985, however, BenCab's 13-year relationship with Kennedy ended in a painful divorce, and he eventually decided to come home to the Philippines.

BenCab eventually returned to the Philippines, and settled in the City of Baguio in Northern Luzon, eventually putting up a studio and a secluded little farm on Asin road, in the nearby town of Tuba, Benguet. He and a small group of fellow artists - visual artist Santi Bose, filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik, and sculptor Ben Hur Villanueva, among others, established the Baguio Arts Guild [BAG]. It was during this period in his career that BenCab began to more deeply explore the use handmade paper as a medium on which to work.

When the 1990 Luzon earthquake struck, BenCab and the BAG helped out by instituting programs such as the ArtAid workshop for traumatized children, and a fund-raising art auction they titled "Artquake." Bencab was elected president of the guild the following year.

Later in the 1990s, BenCab's input was a critical element in the creation of Tam-awan Village, "a refuge for local artists who desire a nurturing environment in which to develop their talents, and a community for all those who wish to take part in the harmonious fusion of art, culture, environment, and history.

BenCab also exhibited considerably during the last decade of the Millennium, also reaping many accolades. Among the most prominent of the many awards received by BenCab during this period was the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining [Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Arts] in 1992.

In 2006, the Philippine Government conferred upon him the Order of National Artist for Visual Arts.

source: wikipedia

Carlos "Botong" Francisco

Carlos V. Francisco was one of the greatest Filipino visual artists and muralists. He was posthumously recognized as a Philippine National Artist by the government in 1973. He was affectionately called "Botong" by his family and friends.

Francisco was born on November 4, 1914 in Angono, Rizal. His parents were Felipe Francisco and Maria Villaluz. His hometown featured prominently in his paintings and murals, and he commemorated many rural scenes and town folk in his composition.

Botong came from very humble beginnings. In the early years he struggled even to acquire canvases to paint on. Together with Galo Ocampo and Victorio C. Edades, he formed the first group of modernists in Philippine art called "The Triumvirate", which struggled to break free from the cliched traditionalism of realist art pioneered by Fernando Amorsolo.

He tried his hand at illustrating everything, even the lowly Pinoy komiks, illustrating the Tagalog classic Siete Infantes de Lara in 1948.

Francisco is known for his masterful landmark murals that were specially commissioned by Malacañang Palace, Manila City Hall, Philippine General Hospital, and Fort Santiago. In them he exhibited bold composition and daring juxtaposition of elements that showcased his mastery of anatomy and lush tropical color.

His masterpieces include "Fiesta" [mural] at Malacañang and its smaller study [Paulino and Hetty Que collection], "Code of Kalantiao" [private collection], "Blood Compact," "First Mass at Limasawa," "The Martyrdom of Rizal," "Magpupukot, Bayanihan sa Bukid," "Stations of the Cross" [Far Eastern University], "Sandugo," "The Invasion of Limahong," "Serenade," and "Muslim Betrothal."

Botong is also known for discovering the Angono Petroglyphs, which are considered the oldest prehistoric artwork. This paleolithic art consists of 127 human and animal figures that are estimated to date back to 3000 BC. Presidential Decree 260 was issued in 1996 and declared the petroglyphs a national cultural treasure. The National Museum established a museum on its site.

He was posthumously conferred the title National Artist of the Philippines in Visual Arts in 1973. He died on March 31, 1969, leaving a rich legacy and a new generation of followers. On November 4, 1975, the town of Angono, Rizal, held an exhibit titled "Gunita Kay Botong." The event became an annual institution and was widely followed to the point that Angono became the unofficial art capital of the Philippines.

source: wikipilipinas

Vicente Manansala

Vicente Silva Manansala [January 22, 1910 - August 22, 1981] was a Philippine cubist painter and illustrator.

Manansala was born in Macabebe, Pampanga. From 1926 to 1930, he studied at the U.P. School of Fine Arts. In 1949, Manansala received a six-month grant by UNESCO to study at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Banff and Montreal, Canada. In 1950, he received a nine-month scholarship to study at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris by the French government.

Manansala's canvases were described as masterpieces that brought the cultures of the barrio and the city together. His Madonna of the Slums is a portrayal of a mother and child from the countryside who became urban shanty residents once in the city. In his Jeepneys, Manansala combined the elements of provincial folk culture with the congestion issues of the city.

Manansala developed transparent cubism, wherein the "delicate tones, shapes, and patterns of figure and environment are masterfully superimposed". A fine example of Manansala using this "transparent and translucent" technique is his composition, Kalabaw [Carabao].

Vicente Manansala, a National Artist of the Philippines in Visual Arts, was a direct influence to his fellow Filipino neo-realists: Malang, Angelito Antonio, Norma Belleza and Baldemor. The Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Lopez Memorial Museum [Manila], the Philippine Center [New York City] and the Singapore Art Museum are among the public collections holding work by Vicente Manansala.

source: wikipedia

Jose Joya

Jose Tanig Joya [1931-1995] was a pioneering Filipino abstract artist and a 2003 National Artist of the Philippines awardee [posthumous].

Joya was a mixed media artist, printmaker, multimedia artist, and a former dean of the University of the Philippines' College of Fine Arts. He pioneered abstract expressionism in the Philippines with paintings characterized by the vigorous and spontaneous strokes of action and gestural painting. He typically made use of impasto, sweeping brushstrokes and rice paper collage in his powerful and vibrant works.

The color schemes of his works were strongly influenced by the tropical landscapes of the Philippine Islands. Among his masterpieces are the Nanking [a collage rendered with Asian calligraphy and forms and patterns resembling rice paddies], the Granadean Arabesque [his large landmark work, 1958], Space Transfiguration, Hills of Nikko, Dimension of Fear, Torogan, Cityscape. He represented the Philippines in the 1964 Venice Biennial, a recognition which showed the high level of acceptance of Philippine modern art had by then attained.

Joya influenced younger artists in making use of multimedia in art. He also worked on ceramics and in printmaking and other graphic arts. His works, especially his mixed-media abstracts, continue to be known for their distinctive style and consistent excellence.

source: wikipilipinas

Cesar Legaspi

 

Cesar Legaspi on April 2, 1917 in Tondo, Manila [1917–1994] is a Filipino National Artist awardee in painting. He was also an art director prior to going full-time in his visual art practice in the 1960s. His early [1940s-1960s] works, alongside those of peer, Hernando Ocampo are described as depictions of anguish and dehumanization of beggars and laborers in the city. These include Man and Woman [alternatively known as Beggars] and Gadgets'. Primarily because of this early period, critics have further cited Legaspi's having "reconstituted" in his paintings "cubism's unfeeling, geometric ordering of figures into a social expressionism rendered by interacting forms filled with rhythmic movement".
[source: wikipedia]

Si Cesar Torrente Legaspi [1917-1994], ay pinarangalan bilang isang Pambansang Alagad ng Sining noong 1990, at siyang itinuturing na nagpasimula ng neo-realism sa Pilipinas at nagpaunlad ng cubism sa bansa.

Bilang isa sa Thirteen Moderns at kabilang sa mga naunang Neo-Realist, nagkaroon ng malakas na impluwensiya sa paglago ng cubism sa Pilipinas si Legaspi. Ang mga nilikha niyang social-realist na nagpapakita ng mga pulubi sa siyudad at mga manggagawa ay maituturing na expressionist dahil sa paggamit niya ng gula-gulanit na porma. Ang kanyang mga likha ay hindi lang ilan sa mga naunang gawa na moderno; nakatulong ang mga ito na matanggap ang modernong arte sa Pilipinas.

Siya rin ay naging ilustrador sa magasin at naging artistic director sa ilang ahensiya habang siya ay gumuguhit ng kanyang mga obra.
[source: wikipilipinas]