{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":9991,"auction_id":10,"set_id":17,"lot_number":"1316","artist":"Arturo Luz (1926 - 2021)","title":"Untitled","starting_price":150000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 1970 (center)","medium":"ivory with wood base","size":"vory: 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” (6 cm x 6 cm x 6 cm)\nwith base: 8” x 3” x 3” (20 cm x 8 cm x 8 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"A gift from the artist to the present owner","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Arturo Luz started to incorporate his style of abstraction into sculptures in 1969, deviating from the figurative representational style. The artist spoke of this critical juncture in his art, saying, “Why do I insist on using a subject when my work was progressively becoming more and more linear, more and more abstract? The subject simply no longer seemed important. The important elements were line, composition relationships. Why not do sculpture?”
Art critic Patrick Flores noted that Luz’s works are an “important cipher in many trajectories” of Philippine art history. With his decision to translate his trademark abstraction into a three-dimensional art form, Luz engendered a paradigm shift in Philippine sculpture in the late 1960s, giving more prominence to geometric abstraction.
A rarity by Luz, the artist reveals in a handwritten dedication note to the giftee dated December 1989 that this sculpture was the only work of art he has ever done in ivory. In this piece, Luz imparts a greater depth to his distinct iconography. The artist generates a kind of miniature architecture akin to a mini skyscraper imbued with minimalism and geometric precision. It would somewhat serve as a prelude to his iconic Cities of the Past series of the 1990s.
Even in his sculptures, Luz proved to be unwavering in his artistry, harking back to a quote from the artist in 1973: “My work is linear or geometric, and that’s it, essentially. I cannot imagine myself going conceptual or surrealistic tomorrow.” (A.M.)","lot_group":"SCULPTURE","lot_details_html":"
Arturo Luz (1926 - 2021) Untitled signed and dated 1970 (center) ivory with wood base ivory: 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” (6 cm x 6 cm x 6 cm) with base: 8” x 3” x 3” (20 cm x 8 cm x 8 cm)