National Artist for Visual Arts (2006)
(April 10, 1942 – present)
Benedicto Cabrera, or BenCab as he is widely known, is a painter, printmaker and photographer. His most famous subject and muse is Sabel, a bag lady/madwoman/scavenger he observed and sketched from his window from Bambang. Throughout his career, Cabrera would transform Sabel as a symbol of dislocation, despair, and isolation to the muse that personifies his continuous exploration of his art style. Cabrera also used his art for social commentary on Martial Law, protesting against the Marcos dictatorship. He also created his Larawan Series, paintings based on photographs of 19th century women in traditional attire, thus merging the past and the present. Cabrera is instrumental in advocating for the preservation of cultural heritage sites and environmental awareness in the Philippines. Throughout his works, BenCab represents the Philippine identity in the arts which he conserves through his one-artist museum BenCab Museum, where he houses various works from the Cordilleras.