Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

With an expressionist bent, Onib Olmedo, a leading figure in the art movement in the country, has depicted distorted and haunting figures in dark colors. He is known for evoking dark moods and shock with his jagged, distorted, and harrowing subjects. In this painting, the mother-and-child theme is visually translated far from the usual works on this often taken-up subject matter. It is an eerie yet absorbing visual rendition, and the interpenetrating forms of the mother and child—the latter seems almost unrecognizable—express their in-sync connection and oneness. The mother, devoid of emotion, has a penetrating gaze, which is a feature that Olmedo has also masterfully captured on his other masterpieces. Olmedo’s popularity continues to grow among the younger audience and art collectors through the years, and he is heralded by many for his own genius style and rendered subjects often drawn from his immediate surroundings.