{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":33048,"auction_id":40,"set_id":65,"lot_number":"136","artist":"Max Balatbat  (b.1978)","title":"Balay 432","starting_price":140000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 2011 (lower right)","medium":"acrylic on canvas","size":"48”x 60” (122 cm x 152 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Private Collection, Manila","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Max Balatbat, whose works have appeared from the Beijing Biennale to shows in Vienna and \nFlorence, brings in mixed media panels, inspired by shanties in his neighborhood. Out of an \nassortment of found and refashioned materials, they weave together unusual quilts of varied \npatterns and textures.\nStudying Architecture in Far Eastern University before moving on to University of the East to pursue \na course in Fine Arts, Maxbal, as he signs his paintings, is an abstractionist with a social realist twist. \nHis work is captivating and stunning for its aesthetic quality; however, lurking underneath the layers \nof color and textures is a fascinating narrative. With each work, Maxbal proves that you can have \nbeauty without sacrificing substance, and more importantly that beauty itself resides in the most \nunlikely places.\nCalling his particular style, “Architectural Abstraction,” Maxbal did not have to look far to find \ninspiration, developing his ideas from the infinite well of stories residing in the busy bustling streets \nof his home in Caloocan. A Caloocan native since birth, he had witnessed the activities of the \nbrothels in his area, and in his eyes the “working girls” were more than their job, more than \nwhatever circumstance in their life led them to be. They were people, a human heart and soul \nresiding within flesh and bone, suffocating under the vastness of the urban landscape.\nMax Balatbat has taken it upon himself to document the human condition. He has become an \nadvocate, giving a voice to the voiceless, challenging others to pay attention to the people who \nhave been shunned and misunderstood by society, giving beauty to what others have misjudged as \nrepellent. Caloocan’s “working girls”, and the setting of their activities has been a constant source \nof inspiration for Balatbat. However, he does not only use them for their own benefit; he takes his \ninspiration and uses his art to give these women a certain dignity. As Max Balatbat narrated: \n“Yung pinaka inspirasyon ko galing sa kanila...Kailangan ko gawin ‘to, kailangan ko ipakita sa \ntao, para makwento ko yung isang side naman. Ang ibang side ng lugar na ito, para hindi puro \nnegatibo.” His future works will give more dimensions to this fascinating and taboo subject, \nfrom the perspective of a sensitive disposition that has enough strength to humanize what \nothers have demonized.","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":200000,"bp":0.168,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":200000,"userBid":5926,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":233600,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":31008,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/40/65/lot/136.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":135,"next":137,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}