True abstract art, while a common misconception, is not a hodgepodge of colors and textures but an orchestrated mastery of concept, media and composition.
It is an attempt to capture emotion, or to visually demonstrate concepts that have no mimetic equivalent. Two artists in particular, National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz and Presidential Medal of Merit Awardee Juvenal Sanso, utilized and experimented with abstraction as a balm for their own artistic souls.
The Exhibit Reception will be on Thursday, May 14 at 6:00 p.m. with a talk by renowned abstract artist Nestor Olarte Vinluan titled “From Figuration to Abstraction.” Vinluan was a three termer head of the UP College of Fine Arts.
The special abstract works by Alcuaz include far more intricate details that show some of their figurative base with his surrealist landscapes and still lifes finding their way into the artworks. Sanso on the other hand, made miniature abstract artworks on Kodak Ektochrome slides after his textile design period in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. It is these works reinterpreted by the artist a few years ago on larger canvasses that will be on exhibit.
“Explorations” pays homage to two astonishing artists who have done much to further the discourse of Philippine art history.
External Links:
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (Official Site)
