Watch this Leon roar

Jaime Ponce de Leon is boyish and soft-spoken, and doesn’t come on strong or menacing even in the competitive urban jungle. But hear him roar through his art gallery, the Leon Gallery. And then you will take notice.

A Business Management graduate from Silliman University and a former barangay captain in his native Dumaguete whose most consuming task was to issue business permits, Jaime shifted gears and turned to his real passion, interior design. It was while he was decorating homes of his clients that he became exposed to artworks, and his appreciation of them led him to become a bona fide art dealer.

“Taste is not something you learn in school,” says Jaime, who went to Sotheby’s Institute in New York after Philippine School of Interior Design( PSID). “I also learned that no one has a monopoly of good taste, and all people have different tastes.” He aspires to make Leon Gallery “cater to every single taste.”

On the treasure hunt for really good priceless pieces, he gives this priceless piece of advice, “The harder you look, the luckier you become.”

To those starting a collection, he recommends that one buy first the works of the Mabini artists of the ‘60s, “at a time when they were struggling.”

 He also says that buying from the collection of someone prominent puts a premium on the artwork you purchase. Say, it’s from the collection of the late Don Luis Araneta, then your artwork probably would earn a couple of zeroes more at the end of its price tag.

Another tip: If possible, buy from reputable collectors, art dealers and galleries. Because they will not barter their names for profit.

Jaime admits that it was hard for him to part with some of his pieces, like an ivory cross that he eventually sold to the late art patron Teyet Pascual. To him, it is hard to part with “what is beautiful and divine.”

To those who have a hard time letting go, Jaime counsels, “Just make sure the price you’re getting is commensurate to the pain of losing the piece.”

As to fakes, Jaime laments, “No single collector can say he has never been a victim. What is wrong is when you knowingly sell what is fake.” When that happens, an art dealer “should be absolutely honest and have the ability to admit his mistakes.”

Jaime, the great grandson of the very first governor of Negros Oriental, Demetrio Larena, values his reputation as he would value a Picasso or a Renoir. He guards it with his very life.

***

Leon’s mid-year sales broke many records (Benedicto Cabrera’s Sabel (2000) was sold at P19,856,000 from its bidding price of P2,200,000 setting a new record for the artist and breaking the gallery’s own record for the 2007 Barefoot Gentleman, which sold for P7,708,800 in 2013).

The Gallery will soon unveil the Magnificent September Auction for 2014. It will reveal surprisingly diverse artworks and antiques for a broad spectrum of sensibilities.

Collectors and enthusiasts will see the earlier works of Ben Cabrera. Spotlight is on BenCab’s Sabel in San Andres Bukid, from his very first one-man show in 1966 at Gallery Indigo. In it we see the beginnings of Sabel — the iconic muse of BenCab.

The Gallery will also train the spotlight on a deft mix from important Filipiniana — including a six-volume folio (1880) Manila Edition of the Flora de Filipinas by Fray Manuel Blanco; to works of homegrown visual opulence: including an important festive Manansala, Vendors from 1972 with its luminous geometries and rich colors; and an equally important work by Anita Magsaysay-Ho, the blithe Women with Baskets and Mangoes. The work endears in that it even bears a dedication that is a celebration of friendship. “This is yours, I’m very happy with the work,” says Magsaysay-Ho.

The stock in trade sale of 164 lots will also include family treasures featuring properties from various fine and private collections including stately artworks from the estates of Don Alfonso Ongpin, Don Luis Ma. Araneta, Don Anselmo Trinidad, Angel and Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, Alejandro and Irene Roces and Tony and Cez Gutierrez.  

A highlight is Claire de Lune, an important reclining portrait of Maria Yrittia by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, which could stop a crowd.

For the sharp-eyed collector, there is the rare block sculpture by Carlos Botong Francisco, which accompanies the sculpture by Manansala that was auctioned off last June. Both were from the storied residence of Don Alejandro Roces.

“The traditional discerning buyers are tough and focused but bidding is also brisk and decisive among the young collectors, and buyers know exactly how far they are prepared to go,” says Jaime. Ronald Ventura’s large and magisterial A Crack in the Hull from 2001 will be an obvious target of seasoned and new collectors, he predicts.

Jaime believes it “pays to look beyond the traditionally popular names. The domain of young contemporary artists remains wide open.”  

A far-reaching change in aesthetic orientations is under way what with today’s young generation of artists blazing the international auction scene,  from Manuel Ocampo, whose raw and powerful style oeuvre is anything but decorative, and Geraldine Javier to Rodel Tapaya and Jose John Santos III.

Riding high amid ever growing collector interest with the records set last June, the period splendor of pre-20th century and pre-war furniture is more alluring than ever, reveals Jaime. These include the Paras-Lazatin cabinet, a balayong and narra masterpiece that is perhaps the only one of its kind in the country; a kamagong chest of drawers and bookcase from the second quarter of the 19th century.

“The art scene has never been as alive as it is now!” smiles Jaime. 

(Preview will be from Saturday to Friday, Sept. 6 to 12, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Preview cocktails will be on Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. Auction will be on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 2 p.m. Leon Gallery is on the ground floor of the Eurovilla 1, Rufino corner Legazpi St., Legazpi Village, Makati City. Catalogue access is at www.leon-gallery.com.) (You may e-mail me at [email protected])