PROPERTY FROM THE GRACE KALAW KATIGBAK COLLECTION

León Gallery wishes to thank the artist for confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist

Literature: Reyes, Cid. Immaterial: The Art of Augusto Albor. Mandaluyong City: Artinformal, 2010. Full-color photograph and painting description on page 69.

ABOUT THE WORK

The abstract oeuvres of Augusto Albor show universal themes or “liberating forces” — time and place, emotion and memory, and transition and permanence. His Ether Series is created out of his explorations on the expressive qualities of muted colors, space, and texture. In this 1996 work titled Etherfield, the subtleties of the aforementioned expressive qualities are treated with his distinct focus on the pursuance of an imagined image as he visualizes elements that fill ethereal regions of space. The canvas is blanketed with a predominance of gray that evokes luminance and invites the viewer to look inward, into a state of sustained meditation. Albor, along with the younger generation of abstract artists, continues to adhere to the minimalist aesthetics that were championed by the country’s foremost abstractionists, such as Fernando Zóbel, Arturo Luz, and Leandro Locsin. Also, situating Albor’s works with those of Rothkho, Cid Reyes wrote that he is among the foremost abstract artists who believed that painting is an instrument for conveying emotions and an exposition of one’s existence. He “regards his paintings as emanations of his conviction and concepts,” the art critic noted. (P.I.R.)