Provenance: Provenance: Galleria Duemila

ABOUT THE WORK

As arguably one of the most well-known and influential Filipino artists on the world stage, visual artist and painter Pacita Abad’s oeuvres have proved themselves, time and time again, as not only mere paintings or works of art, but sweeping odes and hymns to the vitality, mystery, and diversity of human life and experience. Born in 1946, just right after the events of World War, Pacita’s home was on the island of Batanes, off the coast of Northern Luzon and along the crest of the West Philippine Sea. Her decades-long career in art was sparked by an interim period dedicated to studying Law and a fervent passion for human rights. Abad left the Philippines in 1969 due to her student activism under the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Her goal in the United States was direct and concise, to study Law and make use of her talents back home as a means of emancipating the people. But, after receiving her Masters degree in Asian History from the University of San Francisco, Abad realized her true calling lay within the canons of art. She then pursued painting at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C., and then at the Art Students League in New York City. Since then, Abad has showcased her unique style and voice over an itinerant career that led to Abad working for various artists, museums, galleries, and collectors across six continents. She has created over 4,500 works of art and has set-up over 200 exhibits across the world. This piece is emblematic of Abad’s early career as a painter. Still rife with rage and fury over the political situation, Abad’s paintings were primarily done in a proto-primitivist style that used the aesthetic elements of pre-colonial Filipino tribes, but were imbued with a sense of nationalism that sought to free itself from imperialistic strife. But, one can see how this piece also bears the marks of Abad’s artistic evolution with her use of an abstract-like technique to populate the work’s background. Abad eventually brought energy and soul to the world stage by challenging the very doctrine of art and what it meant to be an artist. Abad’s background was unlike any other painter at the time, her works and personality baffled collectors and institutions with their novelty and freshness, paving the way for a whole new generation of international artists stemming from the previous colonies and the global south. She was a global artist even before the concept of globalization even dawned within the minds of experts and professionals. Her art was a testament to the doctrine of humanism, improved upon for the mechanisms for a new and intersubjective age. Abad’s ideals were not only a vanguard for those without opportunity, but a rallying call for equality and equity. If one were to collate her entire body of work into a single manifesto, one would see how her fervent idealism and capacity for care and change would still hold up today. Even after her death, one can still see how Abad still had a million things to say; it is now up to us to continue her legacy and act upon her very foundations.