{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":50230,"auction_id":99,"set_id":131,"lot_number":"139","artist":"Elmer Borlongan (b. 1967)","title":"Clenched Fist","starting_price":300000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 2013 (lower right)","medium":"chalk pastel on paper","size":"16 1/2\" x 11 3/4\" (42 cm x 30 cm)","property":null,"coa":"Accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot","provenance":null,"exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"The works of Elmer Borlongan encapsulate the collective experiences and struggles of the ordinary Filipino. With his distinct visual language of figurative expressionism, Borlongan injects palpable qualities of lightheartedness, optimism, and resilience into his works, imbibing familiarity into an oeuvre with which the people could easily identify with. In a 2018 interview with BusinessWorld for his retrospective exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Borlongan says: \"I want my paintings to reach even regular folk. I have a passion for the ordinary Filipino that they, too, make big contributions to society. I want to show that they may be poor, but there is still hope.\"<br /><br /> In the work at hand, the man's glaring eyes exude a penetrating gaze; his clenched fist evokes a stifling atmosphere. Is the man communicating his emotional, physical, and mental distress to the viewer? Is he conveying the anguish of mortal existence borne from one's harsh socio-economic conditions? Or, in a more powerful interpretation, is the man expressing, through his clenched fist, his bold solidarity with his fellow men? Following the maxim “crisis generates resistance,” is he now geared up to organize and painstakingly mobilize with them? Only Borlongan knows. In the artist's own words, \"All my paintings are of things I have seen. There is no overt symbolism in any of my work, but there is always a story to be told.\" (A.M.)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":"<p><strong>Elmer Borlongan</strong> (b. 1967)<br /><em>Clenched Fist</em><br />signed and dated 2013 (lower right)<br />chalk pastel on paper<br />16 1/2\" x 11 3/4\" (42 cm x 30 cm)</p>","alias":null,"hp":700000,"bp":0.168,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":700000,"userBid":5926,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":817600,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":50149,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/99/131/lot/139.jpg","isFeatured":1}]},"increment":[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":138,"next":140,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}