{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":50193,"auction_id":99,"set_id":131,"lot_number":"100","artist":"Fernando Zobel (1924 - 1984)","title":"Luminosa II","starting_price":7000000,"signed_dated":"signed (lower right); \ninscribed and dated 'Manila 1968' (verso)","medium":"oil on canvas","size":"38” x 38” (97 cm x 97 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Dr. and Mrs. Roberto Macasaet Collection \nLeon Gallery, The Magnificent September Auction 2014, Makati City, 13 September 2014, Lot 25","exhibited":null,"literature":"Paras-Perez, Rod. Fernando Zobel, Eugenio Lopez Foundation, Inc., Manila, 1990, p.85","write_up":"One cannot examine modern art in the Philippines without the mention of Zobel, whose art not only helped shape modernism in the country but also impacted a whole generation of artists. As an artist, Zobel’s creations from the mid- sixties through the seventies had featured his distinctive abstract approach. Working mostly in black with his ‘Serie Negra’ (Black Series) from 1959 up until the early sixties, the internationally renowned artist’s predilections were to evolve into new and novel forms of abstraction. Though his artistic ingenuity was not tied to any sort of natural genius, hence his proclivity to evolve and think outside of the box. Zobel was an intellectual who constantly conceptualized and thought about the things that animate and energize his world. Though he is often considered an idealist, Zobel can also be seen as a pragmatist whose ideals were grounded in the reality of art and the process of creativity. Zobel himself pointed out “I think painters paint the world they live in.”
It is said that after viewing the works of Mark Rothko, preeminent Abstract Expressionist, Zobel discarded subjects in his art to focus entirely on abstractions. And it can also be said that Zobel acted as the forefather to many Filipino artists that followed in his artistic mold and style: tranquil, elegant, yet deliberate. A look at this piece –“Luminosa II”—brings to light this prominent characteristic, which shows the artist’s sensitivity. Prior to the execution of this work, Zobel had already largely shifted from his early Figurative works to his iconic and groundbreaking abstract works. After his 1961 Serie Negra pieces which featured a predominantly monochromatic palette, he would begin to experiment with color once again with the appearance of siennas, dark browns, ochres and grays in his works like Atienza, Armadura III and Pancorbo. This shift signaled an important milestone not only in Zobel's practice, but in the abstract approach itself. This is because the predominant disinterestedness of Abstraction has seemingly given way to exploration of memory and nostalgia. For Zobel such an approach is his way of re-imagining things as he seeks to “remember things in pictorial terms'' After all, one can argue that in the very act of remembering, one is often drawn to not the entire event or object, but its most prominent visual phenomena. But in 1968, Zobel would eventually concern himself not only with the prima facie of visual objects, but with the disposition and intersection of art and culture as well. During this era, Zobel’s works were noticeably more geometric and hard-edged. His approach reflected the harshness of the artistic trends that dominated the late 60s. His usual vague and abstract shapes morphed into more solid and recognizable shapes and forms such as trapezoids, rectangles, cubes, and right angles. Despite this, there is still a palpable sense of ethereality; effectively showing us how Zobel has seemingly balanced novel experimentation with his unique style. (J.D.)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":"
Fernando Zobel (1924 - 1984) Luminosa II signed (lower right); inscribed and dated 'Manila 1968' (verso) oil on canvas 38” x 38” (97 cm x 97 cm)