An artist ahead of his time

In spite of Onib Olmedo’s struggles in the ’70s and ’80s when “modern art” was still an oxymoron in the Philippine scene, Onib refused to compromise and would paint from the heart instead of his wallet.

An architect by training, Onib worked in a couple of firms before setting one up with a friend. When his partner moved permanently to the US, he decided to pursue his love for art as he found himself tiring of the rigidity of architecture. His early work consisted of greatly distorted figures depicting the sorrow and torment of mankind as it was only in the late ’80s when he broadened his themes to include subjects such as ballerinas and musicians. His modern work was hardly popular 30 years ago and even prompted his former partner to tease him that the houses he designed as an architect were similar to the paintings that he made  — “baluktot!” 

One of the friends he made during his abbreviated career was Ricky Gutierrez, one of the partners of the Chateau 1771 Group of Restaurants (which includes Chateau 1771, Portico and Sentro).

Quite appropriately, Ricky and I sat down in what tradition has made a tribute of sorts to Onib, Chateau 1771, as about a dozen of his paintings hang on the walls for all to freely appreciate.  This very generous display of expensive art has always reminded me of La Colombe d’Or in France where works by artists such as Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, Klee and Calder adorn the walls because that was how those artists — who were still struggling at that time — used to pay for their meals at the restaurant.

In the case of Chateau 1771, the relationship between Ricky and Onib was a little different. “I commissioned Onib to do some paintings for Chateau back in 1988. He only charged me P2,000 each in the beginning.” And when I asked him why he commissioned Onib and not any other artist, he frankly answered with a laugh, “Because he was the only artist I knew!” 

Ricky also won some of the paintings playing backgammon with Onib. “We used to play backgammon and our bet was always lunch.  There was one time that he owed me 20 or 30 lunches and so I told him baka puwede painting na lang.”

Since then, it has become Chateau’s tradition to have Onib’s paintings hanging on their walls. And Ricky points out that when their new location in Greenbelt 5 opens later this month, he will hang a large black and white mural on which Onib collaborated with his best friend and fellow artist Alan Cosio.

Everything that is hanging in the restaurant was specifically made by Onib for Ricky.  And the reason why there are no nudes, which Onib is so famous for, was because he knew that Ricky for some reason never really liked them. Quite amazingly, Ricky has 34 Onib paintings without a single nude. But I point out the fact that such does not in any way diminish the value today of the collection. “He used to just charge me maybe P5,000 to P7,000. And nagaaway pa kami dati because I would tell him na sobrang mahal naman ang singil niya sa akin. And he would say na pambayad lang sa materials niya. So after all the arguing and haggling he would maybe give me an extra painting.”

Ricky recounts that “Onib used to hang out in our pensionne in Malate. He would drop off his daughter at St. Scholastica and then stay in our place. He even used to drive a beat-up Lancer and our joke was that if he ever hit anyone, that the person would die of tetanus.”  

“I think Onib would hang out in our pensionne to take advantage of the foreigners who would stay there.  He would be painting there and one of the foreigners would say, ‘Hey that’s nice.’  And he would say, ‘Do you want me to paint you?’ And then he would always make two copies — one for himself and one for the model. Maybe I should have insisted that he do three copies!” Ricky adds, “Before he started staying in our place, he used to stay at another pensionne.  But I think he found our girls were prettier so he moved. Now whether or not he was able to get them to pose in the nude I wouldn’t know anymore.”

But as we discuss their friendship, Ricky points out that he also clearly remembers the last night of Onib’s life, which they actually spent together. “We were having dinner here at Chateau and we were seated at that table,” he said, pointing to one of the tables. “Onib even walked around and looked at all his paintings, which he never does.  And he told me, ‘Pare, take care of my paintings.’ That night I was having a dream, which I still very distinctly remember. I was driving a Volkswagen and Onib was beside me and Alan was behind.  Onib said something like ‘Doon tayo bumaba’ and then the phone rang.  It was Alan calling me telling me that Onib had passed away.”

Onib Olmedo died of a stroke in 1997 at the age of 53. Whether he ever had the chance to peak professionally or not, we shall never know. But he was definitely far too young and it was definitely far too early — and unfortunately, ahead of his time.

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“Onib Olmedo: Dimensions of Depth” runs at the Bulwagang Juan Luna of the CCP until Nov. 8. “My Friend Onib Olmedo” runs at the White Cube Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Manila until Oct. 27, 2007. Chateau 1771 can be reached at 631-7340. E-mail me at omniumg@yahoo.com.