CCP, National Museum present PH art across decades 2
Detail of Ang Kiukok's "Figures on Fire"
Culture

CCP, National Museum present PH art across decades in year-round exhibition

Displayed in the two galleries are works by National Artists Napoleon Abueva, Federico Alcuaz, Ang Kiukok, Benedicto Cabrera, among many other notable names in the Philippine art scene
ABS-CBN News | Nov 25 2023

In a united effort to preserve and promote Philippine arts and culture, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the National Museum of the Philippines join forces to curate the collaborative exhibition “Selections from the 21st Century Art Museum (21AM) Collection.”

Linea in Black by Dani Sibayan, Acrylic on Canvas, 1982
Linea in Black by Dani Sibayan, Acrylic on Canvas, 1982

Currently displayed at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Gallery XXVII and Gallery XXVIII on the fourth floor, the art show continues CCP's initiative to share its collection with a broader audience. The artworks featured aim to trace the early developments of Philippine contemporary art from the 1960s to the 1980s. This effort is also in line with CCP’s goal to further promote Philippine arts and culture outside of the complex while the CCP main building is being rehabilitated.

Night Glows by Arturo Luz, Oil on Canvas, ca. 1960
Night Glows by Arturo Luz, Oil on Canvas, ca. 1960

The exhibition consists of two sections— “The Possibilities of Luminance” and “Man and Nature”—which are inspired by the initial formation of the collection under the CCP Museum and the now-defunct Museum of Philippine Art (MOPA). It aims to put the spotlight on artists who defied traditional art forms and broke new grounds in the creation of conceptual, experimental, and abstract works.

"The Possibilities of Luminance" is anchored on the concept of brightness or luminance as an artistic expression. The term 'tanglaw' or light connotes the visual perception and traversal of lightness and darkness., presenting an understanding and control of light expressed through the intensity of its light source. 

Shapes and Squares I, Artist Proof by Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera, Etching and aquatint, 1970
Shapes and Squares I, Artist Proof by Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera, Etching and aquatint, 1970

‘Man and Nature,’ on the other hand, contemplates on the visual expressions surrounding man and nature, explored through the works of select National Artists for the Visual Arts. The featured artworks include modernist and abstract art practices within the Philippine contemporary art scene between the 1970s and 1980s, and eschews pastoral and genre paintings of landscapes and scenes in everyday life, navigating their practices around portrayals of human anxiety, materiality, and our shared relationship with objects and surroundings. 

Figures on Fire by Ang Kiukok, Oil on Canvas, 1982
Figures on Fire by Ang Kiukok, Oil on Canvas, 1982

Displayed in the two galleries are works by National Artist Napoleon Abueva, National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, National Artist Ang Kiukok, National Artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, National Artist Jose Joya, National Artist Cesar Legaspi, National Artist Arturo Luz, National Artist Vicente Manansala, National Artist Guillermo Tolentino, Lee Aguinaldo, Raymundo Albano, Augusto “Gus” Albor, Constancio Bernardo, Roberto Chabet, Mariano “Nonong” Del Rosario, Lao Lianben, Ileana Lee, Alfredo Liongoren, Ben Maramag, Flora Mauleon, Romulo Olazo, Rodolfo Samonte, Dani Sibayan, Gerardo “Gerry” Tan, Phyllis Zaballero, and Fernando Zobel.

The entrance to the exhibition is free to the public and runs until November 2024. The National Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. The National Museum of Fine Arts is located along Padre Burgos Avenue, Rizal Park, Ermita in Manila City, Philippines.