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Famous Filipino Artist

The document provides biographies of several influential Filipino artists including José Joya, Pacita Abad, Ang Kiukok, Benedicto Cabrera, Eduardo Masferré, Roberto Chabet, and Napoleon Abueva. It describes their backgrounds, artistic styles and techniques, notable works, and contributions to Philippine art.

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Rovin Jae Esguerra
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590 views8 pages

Famous Filipino Artist

The document provides biographies of several influential Filipino artists including José Joya, Pacita Abad, Ang Kiukok, Benedicto Cabrera, Eduardo Masferré, Roberto Chabet, and Napoleon Abueva. It describes their backgrounds, artistic styles and techniques, notable works, and contributions to Philippine art.

Uploaded by

Rovin Jae Esguerra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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José Joya (1931-1995)

A Filipino pioneer of Abstract expressionism, multi-media painter José


Joya uses bold and vibrant colours with a variety of painting techniques,
layering, loose impasto strokes and controlled drips. His harmonious
colours are influenced by Philippine landscapes and tropical wildlife.
His mastery lies in gestural paintings, where the paint is applied
spontaneously on canvas, sometimes directly out of the tube or through
the use of broad strokes with brushes.

Granadean Arabesque’, 1958 | © Joya


Joya influenced younger artists to explore other mediums such as pottery
and printmaking while he served as the Dean of the College of Fine Arts
at the University of the Philippines. In 1964, Joya represented the
country in the Venice Biennial, showcasing the advancement of modern
art in the Philippines.
His most notable painting from 1958, called Granadean Arabesque, is a
large scale yellow hued mural that features clusters of sand and impasto.
It can be viewed at the Ateneo Art Gallery in Manila.

Pacita Abad (1946-2004)


Born on the northern island of Batanes, the internationally revered artist
first obtained a degree in Political Science at the University of the
Philippines. Her staunch activism against the Marcos regime in the
1970s, led her to move to San Francisco to initially study law – but she
found her true calling with art. Her paintings consist of vibrant colors
and a constant change of patterns and materials. Earlier work dealt with
socio-political depictions of people, indigenous masks, tropical flowers,
and underwater scenes. Pacita created a unique technique called
‘trapunto’, where she stitches and stuffs her vibrant canvases with a
wide range of materials such as cloth, metal, beads, buttons, shells, glass
and ceramics, to give her work a three-dimensional look. Her many
travels across the globe with her husband have served as an inspiration
for the techniques and materials used in her art. Pacita has participated in
over 60 exhibitions across the United States, Latin America, and Europe.

Ang Kiukok (1935-2005)


Born to Chinese immigrants, Ang Kiukok is the pioneer of Philippine
modern figurative expressionism. Rewarded as the country’s National
Artist in 2001, he was one of the most successful commercial figures on
the local art scene from the 1960s until his death from cancer in 2005.
Like Amorsolo, his paintings are popular at auctions and have received
exceptionally high bids at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. He is known for his
distinct cubist and surrealist portrayals of the crucifixion of Christ and
mother and child. However, he is acclaimed for his series of Fishermen
at Sea, which connects both energy, faith and the struggle of fishermen
under a vibrant crimson sun labouring together to bring in the haul for
the day.
Benedicto Cabrera (1942-present)
Fondly known as ‘BenCab’ in the Philippines, Cabrera is the best-selling
commercial painter of his generation and a prominent head of the local
contemporary art scene. He studied under José Joya at the University of
the Philippines and received his degree in Fine Arts in 1963. His fruitful
career has spanned five decades, where his paintings, etchings, sketches,
and prints have been exhibited across Asia, Europe, and the US. He
currently resides in the chilly northern hill station of Baguio, where he
established his own four-level BenCab Museum on Asin Road that
features an eclectic selection of indigenous artifacts, personal works, and
an overwhelming collection of paintings from contemporary Filipino
artists

Eduardo Masferré (1909-1995)


Further north of Baguio, in the mountainous province of Sagada, Eduardo
Masferré was born to a Filipino mother and Spanish soldier. He is regarded
as the Father of Philippine photography. He documented with great detail
the everyday lives of indigenous people of the Cordilleras. The self-taught
photographer processed his own film in a makeshift darkroom and
managed to even produce prints without electricity. His photographs
capture the culture of the people in his community and serve as a
documentation of their customary practices and rituals. Masferré’s
photographs have found their way into exhibitions around the world. The
Smithsonian Institution carries at least 120 prints of his works for the
National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
Roberto Chabet (1937-2013)
Born Roberto Rodriguez, he used his mother’s maiden name
Chabet when he began his career in art. He was a mentor to
many students at the University of the Philippines, where he
taught for over 30 years, and is acknowledged as the father of
conceptual art in the Philippines. Chabet initially studied
architecture but his conceptual art installations, collages, and
sculptures in the 1960s and 70s made him a rebellious figure on
the local art scene. He was the founding museum director of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines from 1967-1970, where he
established the 13 Artists Awards that highlight the achievements
of young artists whose works show a contemporary view of art-
making and thinking.
Napoleon Abueva (1930-2018)
Noted as the Father of Modern Filipino sculpture,
Abueva attended the University of the Philippines
with Joya and was mentored by noted sculptor
Guillermo Tolentino, at the College of Fine Arts.
Born in Bohol, he is also the youngest National Artist
awardee appointed by then President Marcos, at the
age of 46. His expertise was seen in a wide array of
materials such as hard wood, abode, steel, cement,
marble, and bronze.

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