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

ABOUT THE WORK

Multi-awarded artist Welbart Bartolome renders white-masked nude figures in many of his works. The mask symbolizes how people, like clowns and harlequins, hide behind this facade as a coping mechanism from reality as well as to conceal troubles in life from others. Bulacan-born Bartolome’s hyperrealist oil paintings show his humanist perspective towards art and his commendable skills in figuration. In this painting, the nude figure reaching out to the light moves the viewer to reflect on the ability to rise above life’s hardships. The other figure wearing a mask seems to witness this moment of transcendence. It is this positive message that makes Bartolome’s psychoemotional works refreshing; he is known for cultivating optimism rooted in the belief that “a beautiful mind is a positive mind” and telling stories through art. Welbart won the Grand Prize in the 57th AAP Annual Art Competition in 2004 and is the Grand Winner of the 1st Figurative Painting Contest by the Philippine Drawing Society in 2008. He also received an Honorable Mention in the Representational Category in the 2016 GSIS Art Competition. A prolific artist, his works are featured in solo and group exhibits in the Philippines and New York.