Accompanied by a certificate issued by the heirs of the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

Growing up in Tabaco, Albay, Renato S. Rocha’s fascination with sculpting was already showing when, as a child, he would mold animal and human figures from clays in rice fields. Going on to study at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where he majored in Sculpture, Rocha later worked with great Filipino sculptors including Napoleon Abueva who was later conferred the award National Artist for Visual Arts. Throughout his works, Rocha prefers using wood as his medium. Oftentimes, they were sourced from his friends from the province, and using them, he creates a magnificent body of work that features women, families, and other genre pieces. “In his hands, Philippine wood never looked more luxurious, warmer, and richer, enhancing the distinctive sensuous forms of his sculpture,” notes Prof. Eric Torres during Rocha’s first exhibition in 1978. His Mother and Father incorporates the best of what his oeuvre has to offer. Using wood, Rocha utilizes straight, choppy cuts to create a blocky appearance, rendering the sculpture almost abstract in its composition. Mother and Father perfectly encapsulates Rocha's ability to translate emotions that transcend mediums. Snuggling close with their heads bowed, one could feel the love and comfort that intertwines these people, abstract as their form may be. With his hands, Rocha bends the rigid wood to convey the warm affectionate feelings his muses indulge in. Rocha’s works are modern in their abstraction and yet, he still carries his classical bearings in them. Even in their abstraction, they glow in character, evidently Filipino in sourcing and in disposition. (Hannah Valiente)