According to E. Aguilar Cruz: “Malang’s paintings are as unlike those of the traditional school represented by Amorsolo as a straight line is different from a scroll. Yet they bear the stamp of that quality that Filipino art lovers mean when they say ‘Filipino’.”
During the 1970s Malang painted lyrical semi abstracts that express his almost religious joy of living.
Abstraction sometimes allows for a bit of somber drama that departs from Malang’s lighthearted, angst-free style, and nowhere is this departure more obvious than in his landscapes. Here, conventions of realism seem easier to break, probably due to the all encompassing perspective, the bird’s-eye view that can concede details, as well as the volatility of the subject matter — shifting storm clouds blown by the wind, sunsets and sunrises, moonscapes that vary with the season. One is a painting with a definite apocalyptic flavor, black background and a very detailed foreground. It is a top view of a city with storm clouds that resemble an atomic bomb of explosion in the distant sky. It is a broody background of church spires, houses and roads some of which are no more than thick square brushstrokes that make the most of the richness of the medium.
Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Manila