2015 marked a historic year for National Artist Benedicto Cabrera. He welcomed the year with the 50th anniversary of his artistic career. With it, he launched a series of retrospective exhibitions in eight museums. With a prolific oeuvre, Bencab: 50 Creative Years is an overview of the lasting muses that followed and inspired him through the decades. Bencab's affinity through the years, as shown by his retrospective exhibits, lies within Filipino sensibilities — his works awash with a warm palette akin to the tropical Philippine weather and a striking Filipino commentary.
In 2017, two years after the retrospective, Bencab once again created a masterpiece done after his own heart. Isadora in Motion shows his flair for what art critic Cid Reyes called "the drama for drapery." Inspired by the American dancer Isadora Duncan, Isadora in Motion emphasizes the sweeping action of the dancer's fabrics. Captured at midturn, Bencab takes full advantage of the space, evoking the cascading order of the skirts and the soft rustling of the wind.
Isadora in Motion is one of many works in Bencab's collection that feature this dynamic. Arguably, his most famous series, Sabel, evokes the movement of fabric clinging to the body. The earlier Sabel was draped with sheets of plastic depicted in its natural angular manner, and while the later iterations of the woman have evolved from the original inspiration of the vagrant that once frequented Bambang Street, the dramatic movement of her clothes remains.
In the lot in hand, Bencab portrays the ephemeral nature of motion and dance; his broad strokes and sweeping colors breathe life into a static image. He captures Isadora "in medias res" and, in doing so, makes the fabric the focal point. It ceases to be an ornament but is now the centerpiece, an instrument that Isadora uses and is concealed by. In a way, the drapery becomes the character itself; its every fold and crease tells a story no other medium can tell. (Hannah Valiente)
Provenance: Indigo Gallery
Exhibited: Gallery Indigo at the BenCab Museum, Take 5 on Aquarelle (A five-generation exhibition of watercolor paintings by Alfredo Roces, BenCab, Elmer Borlongan, Kelly Ramos, and Abi Dionisio), Tuba, Benguet, 11 February - 7 April 2017