PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF A DISTINGUISHED COUPLE

Leon Gallery wishes to thank Mr. Christian Aguilar for confirming the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

From the apples of Cezanne, the bottles of Morandi, to the cafe items of Picasso – indeed, a simple subject can be a spectacle on an artist’s canvas, as is in this oil painting of a basket by Federico Aguilar Alcuaz. The still life pieces of the National Artist exhibit a profound alteration of the image, intentional angling of planes, and colors that appear as complementary oppositions. His compositions can at times be formal, almost geometrical in its symmetry. However, as he was able to shift with ease from figurative to abstract painting, Alcuaz could also move from geometric to gestural free-form brushworks. Still, there are plenty of paintings that displayed his capacity to adapt any visual grammar and imbue it with his own mode of seeing. The lot at hand is titled Basket and dated 1978. In that year, Alcuaz’s The Tres Marias series was in the works, and his muses were the waitresses at Cafe Coquilla, Rotisserie, and the Chinese restaurant in Manila Hilton, where he was residing. He also held a solo exhibition titled Tableaux Intimes at the Odyssey Gallery, Manila. (P.I.R.)