Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist

ABOUT THE WORK

In 1972, Hernando R. Ocampo — perhaps the most intellectual of Filipino painters —was at the height of his powers. Two decades earlier he had put together the most important and influential group of abstractionists of the mid-century, who would be dubbed the ‘Neo-Realists.’ Of all of them, however, H.R. would steadfastly refuse to pursue foreign training; but that is not to say that his art was fated to be confined only on Philippine shores. In 1967, he would exhibit eight paintings at the IX Bienal de Sao Paolo in Brazil. Two years later, he would represent the Philippines with three works at the Festival International de la Peinture in France, and in 1970, bring more artworks to hugely popular Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan. In the same period, he would be commissioned to paint the now world-famous Genesis that would be transformed into the striking tapestry of the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines which opened its doors in 1970. Just two years ago H.R. Ocampo has been recognized as a pioneer of surrealism, and is among the featured artists at the landmark exhibition “Surrealism: Beyond Borders” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The show has since traveled to the Tate Modern in 2022, making Ocampo rather belatedly one of the most exhibited Filipino artists in international museums and therefore the best known. Evensong, named after the church service held at sunset and consisting of canticles and psalms, is a suitably literate title for Ocampo the newspaperman and writer. It is also as he would best describe this season of his work as a musical symphony. The greens of varying shades seem to soar and fly off the canvas, reaching for the skies and a sublime, serene peace and joy