This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by West Gallery confirming the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

Is abstraction really abstract? As paradoxical though this may seem, it can be more Realist than Realism, in the hands of Malang. Close examination of his work reveals that the choice of subject is conveniently incidental as feelings and emotions of the subject are not his concern. Rather, his artistic intent is purely pictorial and decorative. A festive mood emanates from Malang’s depiction of a flower vendor, warm colors and all. The leap from illustrational art to lightweight genre painting was a felicitous one for Malang, who stated in the last mid-century as an illustrator cartoonist for The Manila Chronicle and creator of two strip characters. The picture hovers on an illustrator’s venture into complete abstractness, so we can’t let ourselves off his notional hook by opting for a non-representational reading Malang leaned toward the decorative; although the figures are solid, the emphasis is on detailing rather than on weight or power. In this predetermined, solidly unified structure, the artist distributes the graduated planes of the surface and the areas of light and shade in rhythmic patterns.