Accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist himself confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Literature: Arcellana, Francisco. Joya. Manila: Dick Baldovino Enterprises, 1996. Full-color photograph. Listed as "Island Playground, January 15, 1992" in Joya's Catalogue of Works compiled by Ruben D.F. Defeo.

ABOUT THE WORK

Jose Joya depicted abstract landscapes of the Philippine Islands with his brilliant tropical colors, making his homeland’s aerial view on the canvas look like an island playground. A notable name in abstract expressionism, it has been said that it was he who “spearheaded the birth, growth, and flowering of abstract expressionism” in the Philippines. However, he was more than a pioneer modernist and abstract artist, as he was also active as a printmaker, mixed media artist, and ceramicist. He is also deemed as the creator of compositions that were described as “vigorous compositions of heavy impastos, bold brushstrokes, controlled dips, and diagonal swipes.” The lot at hand, Island Playground, is an acrylic collage piece dated January 15, 1992. Also in that year, he unveiled one of his renowned paintings titled “Spirit of Season.” “In creating an artwork, the artist is concretizing his need for communication,” Joya once said. “He has an irresistible urge to reach out and attain a level of spiritual satisfaction and to project what he is and what he thinks through his work.” The artist, born in 1931, was the son of a couple named Jose Joya Sr. and Asuncion Tanig. His skill in sketching was first noted at the age of eleven. Later, he became interested in studying architecture, but found that he did not have the aptitude for the math and science that the course would require. He attended the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, where he was initially schooled in traditional art, but gradually was influenced by American abstraction and by the emerging trends in Philippine modernism. He graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art, earning the distinction of being the university’s first Magna cum Laude. In 1954, the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica of the Spanish government awarded him a one-year grant to study painting in Madrid. After returning from Spain, Joya finished his Master’s Degree in Painting in 1956 at the Cranbrook School of Art in Michigan, with the assistance of a Fulbright SmithMundt grant. Years later, he became a dean of his alma mater, where he modernized the curriculum and established scholarships. Throughout his artistic career, Joya received numerous awards and held notable exhibits both here and abroad. At the age of 63, the artist died in 1995. For his efforts in developing Filipino abstract art, he was awarded the title of National Artist in 2003, eight years after his death. A retrospective of his work was held in 2011 at the National Museum. (P.I.R.)