Accompanied by a certificate issued by Luisa Luz-Lansigan confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Private Collection, Makati

Exhibited: The Link Ayala Center, Art Fair Philippines 2018, Makati City, March 1 - 4, 2018

ABOUT THE WORK

When Arturo Luz, in 1969, stripped off his art with all vestiges of figuration, which characterized his style from his debut in the early 1950s until the late 1960s, the artist met with and engaged in a newfound creative freedom that enabled him to go beyond the limitations of the canvas. Collage was the first medium to which Luz steered towards non-objective art. In his interview with Cid Reyes and published in the latter’s Conversations on Philippine Art, the artist says, “There were two reasons why I wanted to try my hand at collage. First, I was very much influenced by Bobby Chabet’s collages, and second, it was the time when I had decided to abandon subject matter in my painting, and I thought that the best way to get started was through collage. “…By working on collage—where you are restricted to mere shapes and colors—I was able to leave out figuration completely. Collage was the bridge I used to shift to total abstraction.” In 1979, Luz discovered burlap, resulting in an intensive two-year love affair with the medium and producing numerous works revolving around it. The work at hand best exemplifies this artistic pursuit. The piece is characterized by Luz yielding into consummate intuition and spontaneity rather than conforming to a rigid and mathematical creative process. Here, Luz explores the full expanse of the composition’s space, with the irregular forms highlighting his dynamic instincts in design. Luz says of this practice in Cid Reyes’ book on the artist: “Everything harks back to my student days. Design is deeply ingrained in me. It has become second nature. I can tell if a certain design works or not. I read it instinctively and quickly. I have an internal rhythm that tells me when things are right.” In the same monograph, Luz succinctly narrates his exploration of the burlap. “The burlap works of the Italian Alberto Burri and the Spaniard Millares triggered my curiosity and interest about this material,” says Luz. I must have bought a great pile of burlap—rolls and rolls of it. I decided to paint the burlap an even color: white, black, grey, brown, and pure ochre. “I would tear up the materials and depending on the grade of the burlap, would get variations on the ripped edges. We accumulated piles of different colors and shapes, incredibly assorted. And then I started on the composition. I would throw pieces on a burlap-base laid flat on the ground. Eventually, the pieces will begin to connect, overlap, take shape. “Changes are made by removing and replacing, moving things around, up and down the length of the piece. It was a ballet. Some of these pieces ran up from forty to sixty feet long! “At the end of the day, I would have arrangements that worked. Then another assistant would very patiently sew all these pieces together with long, curved sack needles. They are sewn into the whole burlap background. What is amazing is that there is no visible sewing.” (A.M.)