This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by Mrs. Josefa Joya-Baldovino confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Luz Gallery

Literature: Duldulao, Manuel, Contemporary PHILIPPINE ART, Vera-Reyes, Inc., Philippines, 1972, p. 189 (illustrated)

ABOUT THE WORK

The abstraction that Jose Joya evolved through his body of work is a visual language all his own: remarkable for its combination of shapes and textures that are inextricably united with the surrounding space. Every detail of his creation is integral to the whole, such as in this work, Munting Gubat. Through a conglomeration of both organic and geometric shapes, the National Artist was able to evoke the complexity of a forest, set out against the blue of a sky. The filaments that inflect the shapes point at a tangle of vines while the tapestry of greens suggests the different textures of the landscape. Signed and dated in 1970, the work belongs to a coveted period, as he was translating the natural world into abstraction. Munting Gubat is a stunning work that captures the master in the pinnacle of his achievement.