Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

This 2020 masterwork is an eloquent depiction of the lockdown and the quarantine of recent memory. Emmanuel Garibay here reflects on what he calls “the constricting effect of the lockdown.” Garibay is highly regarded as an ‘artist’s artist.’ In his early 30s, he not only received the prestigious first prize for painting at the annual Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) competition in 1994 but was also bestowed the Diwa ng Sining Award by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA.) That watershed year began a successive list of solo exhibits and various recognitions, including being named as one of the CCP’s influential Thirteen Artists in 2000. In this massive painting, he adds, “It’s also about how we need to stay calm and on top of ourselves despite the oppressive circumstances.” Pigil is a chronicle of these extraordinarily trying times—as well as an offering of both hope and discernment. (Lisa Guerrero Nakpil)