The life and art of Lee Aguinaldo

Learning about our Philippine culture and heritage is always a plus in our lives. That knowledge makes us proud of who we are as a country and lets us stand with confidence among our international peers.

One of the most accomplished ladies I’ve ever met is Lourdes Reyes Montinola. Her family has been a stalwart in Philippine education with their Far Eastern University. Her latest book, Art Deco in the Philippines, features the most important Art Deco landmarks built during the Commonwealth years when the country was experiencing a flowering of political, economic and artistic life. The beautiful buildings include the famed Metropolitan Theater, the Thomas Mapua house, as well as other structures in Metro Manila and the Visayas.

Lizette Cojuangco, Karen Montinola and Bambi Harper

For Lee Aguinaldo, it was an acknowledgement of his outstanding talent in modern Philippine art with a book by the Vibal Foundation and the Ateneo Art Gallery in The Life and Art of Lee Aguinaldo. Mostly self taught, as he was not allowed by his businessman father to pursue his art, Lee stood out among the young artists of the 1950s-’90s with awards and honors heaped on him for his ultra-modern, linear lines and drip-style paintings. Many of his collectors value his artworks dearly as Lee chose whom he wanted to sell his pieces to. Price was no object if he did not particularly like the buyer.  He would value them to near impossible amounts just so that the prospective client would be discouraged and back out.

Many of his modernist contemporaries include National Artists Ben Cabrera and Arturo Luz, Tiny Nuyda, Olazo, Chabet, Pandy Aviado, Jose Joya and Fernando Zobel.

Chloe Periquet, Isabel Wilson, Ching Montinola and Olivia Romulo

For my cousin Lee, the recent retrospective exhibit curated by Richie Lerma, Yael Buencamino and Boots Herrera, as well as the Vibal book launch, served as a validation of his immense talent and brilliant intellect. These two occasions held at the Ateneo were a perfect way to be given the honors and accolades that eluded him in the twilight of his years when he passed away quietly in 2007.

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