PROPERTY FROM THE LEONARDO AND ARMIDA SIGUION-REYNA COLLECTION

Accompanied by a certificate issued
by Fundacion Sansó confirming
the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

A certain degree of enigmatic aura radiates from Juvenal Sansó’s works. Echoing the sentiments of art critics, he thrives underneath the helms of “poetic surrealism.” Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the ethereal technique he employs in his body of work harmonizes with the facet of surrealism that goes through the ambiguous line between illusion and reality – one that traverses through the realms of the subliminal avenues of the mind. Other than surrealism, some critics took notice of the theme of man’s alienation in Sansó’s works. Barbara Mae Naredo, in the issue of Graphic dated February 9, 1972, expounded on the nonexistence of human figures in Sansó’s creations: “Sansó comes nearest to the idea of the artist for whom beauty is alienation, a poetic or even physical transport which returns to things a memory of their own strangeness.” The alienation and torment that he experienced in war-torn Manila were relinquished to his subject matter. On the other side, his palette and canvas became a medium of quietude and placidity. This resulted in two juxtaposing facets in his works – anguish and serenity. Sansó’s works eventually became a reflection of his memory and recollection; his trauma and recovery, and these are indispensable foundations of his great finesse.