PROPERTY FROM THE DON EUGENIO M. LOPEZ JR. COLLECTION

ABOUT THE WORK

The works of the acclaimed master Araceli Limcaco-Dans combine the artist’s personal experience with an undoubtedly timeless essence. As a student, she was mentored under Angela Fernandez and National Artist Fernando Amorsolo. Both her mentors noted that Araceli indeed was an excellent student who strove to find her own voice in the local and international art scene. Beyond her technical mastery over her craft, Araceli also possessed a unique affinity for the human soul. Her myriad of personal experiences, from her colorful upbringing to her encounters during the Second World War, infused her works with a plethora of emotions such as nostalgia, love, longing, and even loss. Her effervescent style tugs at the heartstrings as it silently recites an ode that will make even the hardest of hearts melt. In this piece titled Galing sa Bakuran I we see a synthesis of the artists’ most recognizable themes. Throughout her career, Araceli was most lauded for her nuanced and intricate depictions of the Calado weaving style. The Calado is an open-work style that is commonly utilized in a myriad of Tagalog and Luzon textiles. It is most often utilized as motifs in the making and designing of the traditional barong tagalog and baro’t saya. In the piece, one can see the delicately rendered Calado cloth placed on top of a clothesline; an undoubtedly Filipino scene. The shading and layering of the piece also perfectly captures the cloth in the midst of being blown by a gentle breeze; implying a quiet sense of nostalgia and longing. Araceli Limcaco-Dans has undoubtedly captured an era long gone, but through this piece, traces of a simpler life fill the air with a gentle and subtle breeze.