PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF A DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN

Provenance: The Luz Gallery

ABOUT THE WORK

Luz is the quintessential Filipino modernist who embodied the style’s trademark minimalism, rendering his subjects in a manner that preserved their principal substance. Olea is a genus of about forty species of evergreen trees and shrubs with small leaves. It is a Latin word that means olive, one of the two hues employed by Luz in this painting. This minimalist piece immortalizes the enduring devotion of Luz to his abstract ingenuity. Art critic Rodolfo Paras-Perez described the works of Luz as “one of the most significant and major shows ever attempted on a contemporary artist.” In an homage to Luz after his passing, CNN Philippines wrote: “Luz’s oeuvre allows lines to acquire luminescence, a clarity formed by simplicity and austerity but is vital and vibrant. Perhaps it is this luminescence that has given his presence in the Philippine art world longevity and will bestow generations to come with a radiant feeling or form.” For this reason, Luz will go down in Philippine art history as an artist who zealously committed his life to the blossoming of contemporary Filipino art.