ABOUT THE WORK

Unlike other artists of the bahay na bato, of which there are quite a number, Severino did not aim for a picturesque appeal. He did not paint massive houses of wood and stone covered with moss and bearing flower boxes at the windows, the whole rendered with a colorful palette. Rather, it is time and its effects on structures and human habitations that hold Severino’s interest. Thus, in many of his works in the 1970s, The houses are stripped bare to their very skin and bones, yet carry themselves with a proud dignity. This house from 1974 is not typical of his later works: it is viewed from an angle.