ABOUT THE WORK

There is a peculiar Filipino flavor in the colors of Hernando R. Ocampo. His sublime sense of color has elevated his works to a whole new level, a status that his fellow artist Fernando Zobel acknowledged when he noted that Ocampo’s colors “do not glow” but “glare.” As Ocampo’s interest in colors grew, he learned to wield only hues in portraying what depth, space, luminosity, and form would otherwise do. This mastery is evident in his 1969 Bosquejo. Translating to “sketch” from Spanish, Bosquejo utilizes the usual Ocampo fiery reds; however, Ocampo's mastery of hues manages to transform the planes in varying shades of red into an image of a woman's torso. One could easily see the curves of her body and the swell of her breasts only through prismatic planes of scarlet. “Color is the main physical property of Ocampo’s paintings; subject matter comes second,” writes Manuel D. Duldulao in Contemporary Philippine Art. “[However], this does not mean an escape from reality.” Indeed, Bosquejo is proof of this; while Ocampo’s colors take center stage, his approximation and careful consideration of line and space create a figurative image that peers through the abstraction, an awe-inspiring result of Ocampo’s painstaking attention to detail. (Hannah Valiente)