Provenance: Private Collection

ABOUT THE WORK

Romulo Olazo’s Diaphanous series is one of Olazo’s most popular series – and arguably one of the most popular series in the history of Philippine art. A great example of a sustained study of one subject matter for a long period (Diaphanous as a series spanned for over four decades), the series is now quintessential in understanding and appreciating Olazo’s prolific career, with the series alone producing over 25,000 in studies, paintings, sketches, and the like. This 2012 work entitled Diaphanous #884 is among the list of Olazo’s Diaphanous. Created near the end of his series, Diaphanous #884 features the culmination of the four decades Olazo spent on the series, creating an amalgamation of the abstract and the figurative that drew inspiration from his previous job as a printmaker. The translucency that came from the collographic method of layering as well as the stencil pattern method lifted from the serigraphic approach created a visual masterpiece that caught and sustained the attention of many collectors throughout the years. Born out of years of experimentation and practice, the Diaphanous series, particularly exemplified by Diaphanous #884, became the quintessential Olazo. The series in its magnificence both in legacy and beauty cements Olazo in the golden annals of Philippine art history. (Hannah Valiente)