The Museum at De La Salle University Manila

ABSTRACT ART: The Meaning Beyond the Surface
September 25 – December 05, 2008

The Museum features this 2nd term an exhibition titled ABSTRACT ART: The Meaning Beyond the Surface – an exhibition that examines Philippine abstract art from the works of some original members of the Neo-Realists group, like H.R. Ocampo, Vicente Manansala, Cesar Legaspi, and Romeo Tabuena, and other members like Manuel Rodriguez, Sr., Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Fernando Zobel, and Arturo Luz. Works of other abstract artists like Jose Joya, Ang Kiukok, Mauro Malang, Federico Aguilar-Alcuaz, Roberto Chabet, Rodolfo Samonte, Nestor Vinluan, Lao Lianben, Raul Isidro, Justin Nuyda, and Cid Reyes, are also featured in the exhibit. The artworks are from the Wili and Doreen Fernandez and DLSU Art Gallery collections.

The exhibition showcases works from the period 1950s-1990s. They are of different media on a wide variety of subjects, ideas, or concepts, representing the quality and scope of Philippine abstract art.

The objective of the exhibition is for the viewers to learn how concrete objects and non-tangible ideas were depicted simply into basic forms and concepts. The aesthetic content of the artworks were expressed in patterns, structure of shapes, lines, and colors to evoke unconscious feelings and emotions. The viewer is encouraged to go beyond what he sees, to evoke a feeling about the artwork. While the viewer contemplates with the artwork, he is given the opportunity to make his own interpretation and association, based on his knowledge and personal experiences in order to understand and eventually learn to appreciate abstract art.

Part of the exhibition is a gallery which carries the theme, "Colors of Harvest," a satellite exhibit of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Met Museum) which will show from September 26 to January 13, 2009 entitled bayANInanding: The Motherland and the Harvest of Maestro Amorsolo as a tribute to National Artist Fernando Amorsolo. The exhibit reflects on the shared fundamentality of rice and of Amorsolo in Philippine society.
Featured in the satellite exhibit is a reproduction of Amorsolo's work entitled Barrio Landscape from Sonya Mathay Collection - an introductory image that links to Met Museum's exhibit and a drawing of Amorsolo that portrays a typical Filipina who envisions a rich culture and heritage of the Philippines from the Wili and Doreen Fernandez Art Collection.
Different shades of colors of harvest such as yellow, orange, red, green, blue, an array of earth tones and contemporary blends encompassing the spectrum of light reflections are seen in the works of some abstract artists, such as Jose Joya's Ani, Tag-init, Orange Kites, and (Abstract) Untitled; Manuel Rodriguez's Interlude and Magsosorbetes; and Anita Magsasay Ho's Seashore. These representative works of modern paintings represent Amorsolo's colors of harvest with images of bounty and harmony.

 

List of Artists

ABSTRACT ART: The Meaning Beyond the Surface

Wili and Doreen Fernandez Art Collection

• Federico Aguilar-Alcuaz
• Ang Kiukok
• Roberto Chabet
• Jose Joya
• Lao Lianben
• Cesar Legaspi
• Arturo Luz
• Anita Magsaysay-Ho
• Mauro Malang
• Vicente Manansala
• Justin Nuyda
• H.R. Ocampo
• Manuel Rodriguez, Sr.
• Rodolfo Samonte
• Romeo Tabuena
• Nestor Vinluan
• Fernando Zobel

DLSU Art Gallery Collection

• Lao Lianben
• Cid Reyes

COLORS OF HARVEST

Wili and Doreen Fernandez Art Collection

• Fernando Amorsolo
• Jose Joya
• Manuel Rodriguez, Sr.
• Anita Magsasay-Ho

Metropolitan Museum of Manila

• A reproduction of Fernando Amorsolo’s painting from Sonya Mathay Collection

Exhibition Notes

{ To be posted soon. }

 

Collateral Activities

Lectures

October 17 (Friday)

• Philippine Abstract Art: A Historical Perspective
  Guest Lecturer: Ms. Ma. Victoria T. Herrera
  
  October 17 at 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  The Museum's main gallery, 2F Yuchengco Hall
  
  Ms. Ma. Victoria T. Herrera is the curator of U.P. Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center. She is also a faculty member of the Department of Arts Studies, College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines, Diliman.

November 21 (Friday)

• ARTIST TALK: A Conversation with the Abstract Artist
  Guest Artist: Nestor Olarte Vinluan
  
  November 21 at 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  The Museum's main gallery, 2F Yuchengco Hall
  
  Nestor Olarte Vinluan holds a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts major in Painting from the College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines (U.P.) and earned his Master’s Degree in Fine Arts with a minor in Printmaking at Pratt Institute in New York on a Fullbright Hays scholarship. He served as Dean of the U.P. College of Fine Arts from 1989 to 1998.
  
  As an educator-artist, he inspires his students to explore fresh direction in abstract art and creates works that are deeply philosophical with highly expressive colors.
  
  He is a recipient of numerous local and international awards and distinctions. He represented the Philippines in major international art symposia and constantly invited to participate in exhibits abroad.