Hernando Ruiz Ocampo (April 28, 1911 – December 28, 1978)
Ocampo was a Filipino artist best known for his abstract paintings. Following in Modernist traditions, Ocampo used bold color palettes and biomorphic shapes inspired by both his country’s landscape and by science fiction writing. He had a background as a writer and originally studied law and creative writing before teaching himself art. He started his career as a member of the Saturday Group along with Vicente Silva Manansala and Cesar Legaspi. Over the course of his career his interest evolved from depictions of workers to abstract forms. He died on December 28, 1978 in Caloocan, Philippines at the age of 67, and was posthumously awarded the title of National Artist of the Visual Arts in 1991.
Juvenal Sansó (Spain, 1929)
Born in Catalonia, but raised in the Philippines from the age of 5, Sansó has been an enduring part of the Philippine art scene since 1950 when he won first prize the Art Association of the Philippines competition. Popularly known for his striking paintings of flowers and foliage, his character portraits reveal keen observation skills and an ability to convey emotions beyond what is immediately visible. Because of his contributions to culture in the countries that he’s called home, he has been awarded The Presidential Medal of Merit in the Philippines, The Distinguished King’s Cross of Isabela from Spain and The Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France.
Ang Kiukok (March 1, 1931 – May 9, 2005)
Ang Kiukok was a Filipino painter known for his expressive, Cubist-like works. He often chose dynamic or disturbing subject matter, frequently depicting rabid dogs, crucifixions, and screaming figures in an abstracted geometric style. When asked why he often chose subjects full of such angry he once replied “Why not? Open your eyes. Look around you. So much anger, sorrow, ugliness. And also madness.” Some of his most gruesome paintings were made during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos, who held the Phillipines under martial law throughout the 1970s. Kiukok was awarded the title of National Artist by his home country in 2001, and continued to exhibit with success until his death on May 9, 2005 in Quezon City, the Philippines.
José T. Joya (June 3, 1931 – May 11, 1995)
Joya was a renowned abstract artist and a National Artist of the Philippines awardee. He was a printmaker, painter, and mixed media artist. He is considered a pioneer and introduced abstract expressionism in the country which is characterized by vibrant, gestural brush strokes or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity. Most of Joya’s masterpieces consist of harmonious colors inspired by the country’s different landscapes, such as green rice paddles and golden fields of harvests. As the president of the Art Association of the Philippines from 1962 to 1965, he became a visionary who pushed Philippine art and showcased the country’s culture to be recognized by the rest of the world. In celebration of his life and his vast contribution to Philippine Art, a retrospective of his work was showcased at the National Museum in Manila in 2011 and at the Ayala Museum in 2012.
Vicente "Enteng" Manansala (January 22, 1910 – August 22, 1981)
Manansala was born on January 22, 1910 in Macabebe, Pampanga, but spent his formative years in Intramuros, Manila. From 1926-30, he pursued his undergraduate studies at the U. P. School of Fine Arts in Ermita. During his time as a student, future National Artists for Visual Arts Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino were professors and administrators at the university. Today, Manansala’s works are highly regarded as masterpieces. When they aren’t consistently headlining art auctions locally and abroad, they can be found adorning the walls of major museums, institutions, and public buildings across the world.
Cesar Torrente Legaspi (April 2, 1917 – April 7, 1994)
Legaspi was a Filipino National Artist in painting. He was also an art director prior to going full-time in his visual art practice in the 1960s. His early (1940s–1960s) works, alongside those of peer, Hernando Ocampo are described as depictions of anguish and dehumanization of beggars and laborers in the city. These include Man and Woman (alternatively known as Beggars) and Gadgets. Primarily because of this early period, critics have further cited Legaspi’s having “reconstituted” in his paintings “cubism’s unfeeling, geometric ordering of figures into a social expressionism rendered by interacting forms filled with rhythmic movement”