Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

Though Filipino art in the 20th century was not only diverse but considered groundbreaking given the development of different styles and techniques, it was still plagued by the same problem as its Western counterparts; it was very much dominated by men. Although women and female artists were not unheard of, relatively speaking they were few and far between. While those who managed to join the ranks of the country’s artistic canon occupy a unique position of setting the standard for future generations. The artistic practice of Nena Saguil is among those who not only defined the landscape of Philippine visual art , but arguably of abstraction as well. A sizable portion of Saguil’s career was spent in Paris where she supported her art through odd jobs. When asked why she wouldn't return to the country to live out a much more comfortable existence, Saguil noted that the local art world was too patriarchal, thus choosing the more liberating albeit more laborious existence abroad. One can argue that this emancipatory act eventually affected her art. Once perceived as mathematical or strictly methodological, Saguil’s unique brand of abstraction is undoubtedly both spontaneous and organic. Its various shapes alluding to all sorts of naturally occuring patterns, shapes, and ephemera. This insistence on the organic, on the natural can be seen as a liberating act by an artist no longer constrained by expectations; an artist that is truly herself. (J.D.)