Provenance: Philippine Art Gallery, Manila

Exhibited: Philippine Art Gallery, 1963

ABOUT THE WORK

In 1963, Norma Belleza held her debut solo exhibition at the storied Philippine Art Gallery, where she was also an artist-in-residence with her husband, Angelito Antonio. Prior to that landmark event in her life, Belleza was a fresh graduate and an emergent artist, having just received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Santo Tomas in 1962. She would also bag awards at the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) Annual, where she was named third honorable mention in 1962 and awarded third prize in 1963. The work at hand, simply titled Portrait, was among the works featured in Belleza’s career-defining exhibition. Back in its heyday, the Philippine Art Gallery (PAG) was the benchmark for Philippine modernism, where the best of the country’s modern art was showcased and accorded deserved recognition. Writes Purita Kalaw-Ledesma in the book The Biggest Little Room, the PAG “was a good venue for the struggling young Modern artist.” Exhibiting at the PAG was a badge of honor for the budding artist, such as Norma Belleza in her youth. Portrait is also a quintessential representation of Belleza’s early style. There was this phase in Belleza’s career wherein her paintings did not resemble the brightly colored and highly exuberant themes that would catapult her to prominence. Depressing and somber themes characterized Belleza’s paintings during her early phase, often depicting religious subjects and, sometimes, those that implicitly speak of the anguish experienced by the human soul. In Portrait, Belleza depicts a solitary man, with his face explicitly expressing personal torment. Belleza’s spontaneous brushstrokes and impassioned employment of somber colors exude an intense brand of expressionism. A heightened charge of emotions is palpably discerned, a quality that only comes from an artist so natural in her ability to capture the many facets of human existence. Even in her early phase, Belleza’s signature distortion of her figures is already apparent. (A.M.)