Provenance: Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

ABOUT THE WORK

Danilo Dalena has been a prolific artist since the 60s, even during the Martial Law years. He was associated with the alternative artist-ran space instigated by Roberto Chabet after he resigned from the CCP in the 70s, the Shop 6. It is his association with the group that made him explore more conceptual modes of art, as he was more associated with traditional techniques. His works have become more conceptual in time as his ideas precede over form. Often producing series paintings, Dalena renders bodies out of his own nuanced expressions of observations directly from his perspective, not adhering with the ideal, typical physical forms and environments. In this oil painting, the lush and fleshy figures who are in different exercise positions are rendered from an unusual point of view, visually strange but captivating in Dalena’s ability to capture character and humanness. Its distinct quality is a result of how he recaptures figures and backgrounds as he sees them. This painting was bought directly from Dalena in 2002 as the owner spent a nice afternoon in the artist’s house. Dalena, a lovely man with a great sense of humor, explained that the painting was one of his impressions of the Americans from his visit to the US. The two joked about how the painting style of the legs was reminiscent of the style in American artist Georgia O’Keefe’s Clouds.