Provenance: Private Collection, Makati City

ABOUT THE WORK

Time and time again, Lao Lianben has shown us that he is the master of the monochrome, profound He is unmatched in his ability to create worlds using the sparest of means. In Tryst, painted in 1975, the country’s foremost abstractionist meditates on the way light inhabits the surface of his vast canvas. Named after his original 1976 AAP award-winning piece, Tryst---meaning an agreement or appointed meeting---is another testament of artistic activity of self-liberation from the pretension of self-sufficiency. A minimalist, Lao Lianben’s works are often associated with the Zen spirit and aesthetics. His process of creation involves a layering of various textures, incorporated with found objects that are often found in nature. Found in his works is a play of contrasts between free organic shapes and geometric panel design. He substantiates soft tensions of the flawed registry and vibrated lines, using them to advantage in order to bring out an unmistakable aura of meditative serenity. Lao Lianben is an alumnus of the University of the East. During the 1960s he began using found objects and indigenous materials such as twigs and small branches in his assemblages. Lao held his very first solo exhibition at the Solidaridad Galleries in 1973. He then won several awards from the Shell NSAC, the annual AAP competition, the Mobil Art Awards and the Thirteen Artists Awards from the Cultural Center of the Philippines.