Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

ABOUT THE WORK

Beauty, nostalgia, and emotion---these are all words and concepts that have been ascribed as the telos or goal of artworks and even art itself. But, after the numerous social, political, and cultural upheavals that have dawned on humanity as a whole since the late 19th century, it is no surprise that our aesthetic disposition has shifted as well. It is this very hegemonic shift that inspired Arturo Luz’s minimalist series. By drawing from the artistic discipline of brutalism, Luz embodies this aesthetic shift by treating art not as a representation of beauty, emotion, and divinity, but as a means to an infallible end. He does so by emphasizing the form and material of the work itself as independent from scrutiny and interpretation. Luz’s work seemingly suggests a return towards the platonic form; defined as perfect objects from which all other representation stems from. If such a world exists, Luz’s work gives us a rare yet fleeting glimpse into its very core. Luz has produced art pieces thr ough a disciplined economy of means and materials that perfectly encapsulates a uniquely Asian and Filipino modernist spirit. Although many of Luz’s works include only the essential elements of lines, curves, and a few muted colors, the Filipino people continue to show enthusiasm, admiration, and curiosity for them. Luz won the distinction of being designated National Artist of the Philippines, the highest artistic honor in the country, for Visual Arts in 1997.