Juan Arellano, who was primarily known as an architect, apparently explored unconventional imagery in his lifetime, such as in this work depicting a mélange of heads dispersed in a dark, brooding setting invoking the hallucinatory reservoir of the subconscious. It teems with magic and mystery, so much so that the scene lingers in the mind’s eye long after one has seen the painting. In 1977, art critic Leonidas Benesa wrote that Arellano created about 300 paintings in 50 years, a notable record that proves that Arellano had not given up painting completely in favor of architecture, not even during his heydays in the 1930s and 1940s.
Your Inquiry was successfully sent, please wait for the reply of Leon Gallery Management.
Juan M. Arellano (1888-1960)
Untitled
signed (lower right)
oil on wood
32 1/4” x 23 1/2” (82 cm x 60 cm)
SOLD: PHP 186,880
Provenance: Private Collection, Muntinlupa City