Filipino art in the spotlight

No doubt Philippine visual art has not enjoyed as golden an age as it’s been having of late. Not a day passes without some art exhibit or two opening somewhere, among the legion of galleries all over our Gotham. International auctions have fired up even greater interest, apart from setting record-setting prices for Filipino artists’ works.

The last time I attended an art exhibit on a grand scale, months ago at a converted car park in Makati, the enthusiasm of my fellow gawkers was nearly palpable. And this enthusiasm was more than matched by the terrific quality, variety amd range of the assembled artworks.

Pinoy artists are dynamic, exciting, highly skilled, technically proficient, incredibly imaginative, and perhaps most essentially, capable of digesting and fusing all kinds of influences — from fringe to mainstream — then breaking away from these to claim their own stamps of brilliant identity.

It becomes all the more awesome (there’s the word, only so apt) when works that span over a century are assembled to gift a viewer, an aficionado, an art lover, a cheering supporter or avid collector a virtual pageant blessed with historical, cultural, and aesthetic context.

Words of proud acclaim, even those hinting at the utmost, thus turn forgivable. Acceptable is the marquee billing of “Magnificent September Auction” for Léon Gallery Auction 4, which promises to be a glorious affair towards the end of this month. 

The preview period for the collection of authenticated works from nearly a hundred notable artists is set for Sept. 23 to 27, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., while the much-anticipated auction itself will be held on Sept. 28, starting at 2 p.m., at AIM Conference Center, Jesus V. del Rosario Foundation Building, Benavidez corner Sr. Trasierra Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City.

Here’s the sterling roster of artists represented:

Pacita Abad, Martino Abellana, Lee Aguinaldo, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, Fernando Amorsolo, Pablo Amorsolo, Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo, Ang Kiukok, Angelito Antonio, Justiniano Asuncion, Antonio Austria, Tam Austria, Andres Barrioquinto, Norma Belleza, Jose Blanco, Elmer Borlongan, Santiago Bose, Alfredo Buenaventura, Cesar Buenaventura, Teodoro Buenaventura, Benedicto Cabrera, Ferdinand Cacnio, Buen Calubayan, Rocky Camus, Ronald Caringal, Alfredo Carmelo, Dominador Castañeda, Eduardo Castrillo, Cris Cruz, Jigger Cruz, Daniel de la Cruz, Demetrio de la Cruz, Fil de la Cruz, Victorio Edades, Alfredo Esquillo, Ramon Estella, Karen Flores,

Carlos “Botong” Francisco, Romulo Galicano, Alfred Galura, Miguel Galvez, Emmanuel Garibay, Dennis Gonzales, Mia Herbosa, Felix Resureccion Hidalgo, Geraldine Javier, Jose Joya, Lao Lian Ben, Elias Laxa, Cesar Legaspi, Alfred Liongoren, Julie Lluch, Diosdado Lorenzo, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Tony Mahilum, Vicente Manansala, David Medalla, Godofredo Mendoza, Joan Miro, J. Elizalde Navarro, Virgina Navarro, Galo Ocampo, HR Ocampo, Romulo Olazo, Onib Olmedo, Ramon Orlina, Joaquin Pallares, Lynyrd Paras, Mario Parial, Eduardo Perrenoud Jr., Jorge Pineda, Ricarte Puruganan, Loreto Racuya, Rodolfo Ragodon, Manuel Rodriguez Jr., Manuel Rodriguez, Sr., Juvenal Sanso, Jose Santos III, Mauro “Malang” Santos, Soler Santos, Solomon Saprid, Serafin Serna, Yasmin Sison, Randy Solon, Romeo Tabuena, CJ Tañedo, Rodel Tapaya, Wire Tuazon, Ronald Ventura, Macario Vitalis, Edwin Wilwayco, Hugo Yonzon, Oscar Zalameda, Costantino Zicarelli, and Fernando Zobel.

Why, if my counting fingers are still good, that’s a total of 95 artists! With two works from the 19th Century Philippine School, a total of 154 items or “lots” are to be auctioned off. 

You might have noticed a curious inclusion: Joan Miro. It’s a 1976 mixed media work sized 14” x 11.5” and whose provenance is a private collection in Barcelona, with a starting bid price of P90,000.

Old masters are represented, something that is sure to draw big-time collectors still out for an Amorsolo (“Lavanderas” dated 1961 starts at P900,000) or Hidalgo. Many other beloved Filipino artists have left part of their legacies behind for further portage.

I am pleased to note that my old buddy Santiago Bose is represented by at least one work, as well as other friends, such as National Artist BenCab (for whose pair of works the auctioneer’s gavel will surely hang in the air for some time), Ed Castrillo, Ramon Orlina, Onib Olmedo, David Medalla, Julie Lluch, Manuel “Boy” Rodriguez Jr., Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo, and Fil de la Cruz (whose print starts at a very modest P4,000, but as I understand it with auctions, could zoom up to five digits).  

Our foremost art critic Cid Reyes once observed: “It all depends on the present status of the artist. I know of a young, fairly unknown artist’s work that started at P1,000 and reached P100,000. Auctions are always a gauge of an artwork’s desirability. The reverse also works. Inflated reputations can also be defalted.”

There’s Botong, and there’s Edades. There’s a Blanco! There’s a Vitalis! And if I had saved up on pork, why, I’d be fending off all challengers for a Ventura! 

A highlight of the auction may be Jorge Pineda’s “Las Buyeras,” which won the Bronze medal in the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair Exposition, where the Gold went to Juan Luna and the Silver to Felix Resureccion Hidalgo. Pineda was 25 years old at the time. “Las Buyeras” or Betel-Nut Vendors is signed and dated 1904, oil on canvas sized 71” x 58”.

Other lots of expectedly keen interest include two signed Justiniano Asuncions that are extremely hard to come by, a seminal 1954 Jerry Elizalde Navarro, a Hidalgo that was part of the artist’s estate, and an Alfredo Esquillo that is said to have ignited the interest for contemporary art in the Philippines. Also worth noting are pieces from important collections such as the Nikki Coseteng Collection, the Erlinda Enriquez-Panlilio Collection and the Ramon and Cecille Mitra Collection.

Organizing this exciting auction is Léon Gallery Fine Art & Antiques, founded in 2010 and known to specialize in historically important and museum-quality Philippine art. Old Master paintings such as those by Juan Luna, Fabian de la Rosa, Hidalgo and Amorsolo form the core of Léon Gallery’s collection, along with modernist works by Fernando Zobel, Romeo Tabuena, Diosdado Lorenzo, and Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, among others.

The gallery makes sure to employ an exemplary level of scholarship, especially in the authentication and documentation of important pieces. Impeccable provenance is assured, and authenticity for each artwork guaranteed. Léon Gallery also offers Philippine antiques from the pre-Hispanic to the Hispanic era, inclusive of furniture, ivory, orientalia, pottery, rugs, and special heirloom and estate pieces.

The gallery’s director, Jaime Ponce de Leon, was born in Dumaguete City and had his entire education in Silliman University, from elementary school to college, earning a degree in business administration, major in management.

At 20, he became the barangay captain in the district that included Dumaguete’s famous Rizal Boulevard. Moving to Manila, he initially worked for a real estate company, and even got based in Kuala Lumpur for a year, before deciding on taking up interior design at the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID). 

While at PSID, he started doing projects — houses and condominiums — and realized he had found something he truly enjoyed. On the side, he dabbled in buying and selling art which was a feature of the homes he decorated. With his business slowly growing, he decided to open Léon Gallery at Corinthian Plaza, Paseo de Roxas, Makati.

While doing interior design and art dealing, Jaime or “Popong” became exposed to auction houses abroad, in Paris and Madrid in particular. He says he realized that the smartest way to buy art and also to sell art is always through auction. The voracious reader that he is, he noted that the most formidable collectors acquired a good chunk of their collections through auction, and that they also disposed of these through auction.

“Why not apply this system in Manila?” he asked himself. He took summer courses in Sothebys, studying the relationship between galleries, collectors, and auction houses. He has since learned a lot about sustaining great relationships with clients.   

“I always see to it that the highest ethical standards of the business are observed,” Jaume Ponce de Leon says. “Primarily, I am aware that I absolutely cannot work for any art institution or represent one when I am involved in a commercial enterprise.”

Jaime adds: “You will notice that in Leon Gallery, we do not have an ‘estimate.’ This is the manner the auction houses in Europe conduct the auction — with only the bid price — hence we start low. Léon Gallery also sees to it that we have something for everyone. We want art to be attainable by all, as we believe that no one has a monopoly on discerning what real art is. We leave that to the critics. We never mislead our clients. And finally, we believe that art should never be measured in monetary terms.”

Sept. 28 bids to be an exciting date for Filipino artists and all art lovers.

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For information, Léon Gallery’s phone number is 846-7416, with website Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.. Interested parties may also view the Magnificent September Auction lots by accessing the catalogue at www.leon-gallery.com/catalog/SeptAuctCozyWEBv3.pdf.