Provenance: Private Collection, Makati City

ABOUT THE WORK

A well-traveled artist, Oscar Zalameda boasted oeuvres that eloquently reflect his international worldview — one born of experience and taste. He attended several art schools abroad, exhibited in popular cities, and earned prestigious awards as well. His aesthetic that evokes opulence and elegance was acquired during that formative time in his life, and it might be worth mentioning that he was said to be a hedonist who lived well and had high-society connections. The lot at hand can be perceived as an allusion to his cosmopolitan lifestyle, but it is also a piece where one can observe the artist’s predilection for abstraction. Pink Mosque, an oil painting made in ca. 1960, portrays the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran. As written in the title, it is also called the “Pink Mosque” or the “Mosque of Colors.” The traditional mosque was built during the Qajar dynasty, under the order of Mirza Hassan Ali Nasirol-Mulk, one of the lords and aristocrats of Shiraz. The construction began in 1876 and was completed in 1888. A space where art and worship intertwine, the Persian vista comes to life when colorful sunlight reflections dance on its surfaces. Among the architectural monuments in Iran, Pink Mosque is one of the most important mosques in Shiraz. The structure is at the same time not too old and not too new, but it is regarded as a celebration of both classic and modern times embedded in Islamic heritage. Furthermore, it has roots in the architecture and other arts that flourished in the Golden Age of Islam. The artist captured the Pink Mosque on his canvas with the use of his mastery of color and atmosphere. Around the time he created this piece, in the mid-’50s up to the beginning of the ‘60s, his Cubism had become more conspicuous. His abstract approach included subdued colors and lines, the softened brushstrokes render a visual correspondence between figuration and abstraction, unraveling a unique abstraction that has not entirely abandoned the concept of figurative imagery. His subjects still resemble representational figures, but the visual likeness is not the primary concern of his art. Zalameda aims to impart that abstraction need not be hard to read and need not be willfully ambiguous. For that, he is best known for the style that would be his signature: the looser cubist forms accompanied by bold and assured colors. Aside from works such as this one, he also captured the hearts of many with his brilliant renditions of rustic Filipino motifs. Well, a few years later after this piece was created, the First Lady Imelda Marcos invited him to hold a one-man show at the Malacañang Palace in 1966. (P.I.R.)