National Artist for Visual Arts (2001)
(March 1, 1931 – May 9, 2005)
Ang Kiukok is heavily influenced by social realism, a movement where art was used to portray the realistic working conditions of the poor and the working class. Thus, Ang’s work is full of angst, grit and grime of the times. His paintings evoke feelings of agitation and disturbance, using sharp, angular shapes to connote a pointedness to an emotional response to something unpleasant. His works feature animals in conflict, deconstructed androids and their many parts, and junkscapes (heaps of discarded industrial machinery): all painting a gruesome scene full of pessimism. His human figures, while mostly in a state of depression, are either in a state of entrapment or in the intense moment of rebellion. What Ang Kiukok provides to the public is a bleak view at the time of post-war crisis. His works served as a reminder that humanity is not free from agony, and suffering is inevitable in an imperfect world.