{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":53510,"auction_id":20,"set_id":35,"lot_number":"207","artist":"Benedicto Cabrera (b. 1942)","title":"Looking Back","starting_price":180000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 2014 (lower right)","medium":"archival print on acid-free paper, A/P III","size":"30 1/2” x 21 1/2” (77 cm x 55 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":null,"exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"The Philippine art landscape has witnessed a number of its artists make a name for themselves in the art of printmaking: From its pioneer Manuel Rodriguez, Sr to Raul Isidro, Fil de la Cruz, Pandy Aviado, and even prominent artists such as Arturo Luz, Juvenal Sansó, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, and Mauro Malang Santos took their artistry to elevated heights, amplifying their versatility and style.<br /><br />\nIn the 1960s, BenCab, together with friends Virgilio Aviado and Justin “Tiny” Nuyda, engrossed himself in the workshop of Maring Llamado Reyes and started to immerse himself in printmaking. He then continued to improve his skill in the late 60s and early 70s during his expatriation in London. BenCab initially used the equipment at the Chelsea School of Arts until he acquired his own etching press in 1975. In 2005 and again in 2010, he was invited to do a residency at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute where greater access to print-making facilities led him to further refinement of his art.<br /><br />\nLooking Back and Geisha VI encapsulate BenCab’s penchant for the art of Japanese prints – the ukiyo-e. His appreciation for the ukiyo-e was catalyzed through his exposure to the London antique market. This resulted in a delicacy and stylistic development that are predisposed towards an Oriental sensibility and finesse in manipulating hues and figures. Similar to his interest in studying Filipiniana that he explored in an erudite approach, BenCab augmented his grip on the ukiyo-e by obtaining and accumulating numerous pieces of this art form.<br /><br />\nDepicting figures garbed in the voluminously splendid layers of the lavish kimono and the convoluted flow of drapery, these two pieces by BenCab are reminiscent of the artist’s Sabel series. The composition of a BenCab print is brought under a bridled approach. By coalescing geometric intervention and striking placement of the subjects, the composition is compellingly disintegrated into a striking set of prints that augmented BenCab’s fine imagery.<br /><br />\n“I like to draw… And in etching, I can be very fastidious. In print-making, you can make multiple copies,” expounding on his experimentation with various ways to depict an image such as employing various hues for new prints of the same image that adds an extra layer of versatility to his artistry. BenCab is also fascinated by the unrestrained approach in print-making, stating: “There’s always a surprise. You never know what you’ll see when you lift the paper.”","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":"bencab","hp":320000,"bp":0.168,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":320000,"userBid":7890,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":373760,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":55078,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/20/35/lot/207.jpg","isFeatured":1}]},"increment":[220000,240000,260000,280000,300000,320000,340000,360000,380000,400000,450000,500000,550000,600000,650000,700000,750000,800000,900000,1000000,1100000,1200000,1300000,1400000,1500000,1600000,1700000,1800000,1900000,2000000,2200000,2400000,2600000,2800000,3000000,3200000,3400000,3600000,3800000,4000000,4200000,4400000,4600000,4800000,5000000,5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":206,"next":208,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}