Provenance: Nora Daza Collection

ABOUT THE WORK

A pioneering modernist in Philippine art, Ricarte Puruganan has long been at the forefront of modernism — deviating from the classical realist aesthetic of the renowned Amorsolo School. Puruganan’s works are noted for their bold strokes and heavy application of paint. The powerful directness of his brushwork in this work is a sharp contrast to the more delicate brushstrokes which he employs in his more numerous depictions of traditional dancers. One of the Thirteen Moderns, Puruganan since the 1960s has developed a style which seeks to synthesize indigenous Filipino designs with contemporary dreams, but this work is an exception — of note still is his stylized approach to his aesthetic.