{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":50113,"auction_id":99,"set_id":131,"lot_number":"25","artist":"Ang Kiukok (1931 - 2005)","title":"Seated Figure","starting_price":400000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 1976 (lower right)","medium":"watercolor on paper","size":"25\" x 19\" (64 cm x 48 cm)","property":"PROPERTY FROM THE SENATOR LETICIA RAMOS SHAHANI COLLECTION","coa":"Accompanied by a certificate issued by \nFinale Art File confirming the authenticity of this lot","provenance":null,"exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Ang Kiukok originally started his artistic career as a watercolorist. In Alfredo Roces’ book Kiukok: Deconstructing Despair, Ang says: “I was originally a watercolorist, but the medium is too limited. I can express myself better in oil.” Interestingly, Ang first gained recognition with a watercolor work, Calesa, which was his entry to the 5th Shell National Students Art Competition in 1953 when he was still studying at the University of Santo Tomas. He would go on to win third place in that competition. The following year, Ang graced his debut solo exhibition with twenty- nine watercolor works mounted at the Contemporary Arts Gallery.
Roces writes in the same book: “In watercolor...you see a different facet of Kiukok’s art. Here, the artist hints at some affinity with Chinese ink on rice paper, seamlessly combined with the lush qualities of a Western watercolor style. Kiukok’s early mentor, Manansala, was himself attracted to Chinese ink brush painting and sought pointers from Chinese artists....
“Manansala’s approach to watercolor may have had a strong influence on Kiukok in his student years, but being suspicious of the facile, Kiukok wisely ignored Manansala’s inclination to dazzle with bravura strokes amidst a cornucopia of color and form. A Kiukok watercolor exudes luminous color and rich texture but always remains somewhat spare.”
This piece, which is emblematic of his enduring figurative expressionist trademark that captures the multifaceted aspects of human anguish and despair, was created amid a tumultuous era in our country’s history. Ang remarks on his works during this period: “Look around you. So much anger, ugliness. And also, madness.” In this work, Ang depicts a man whose huddled body explicitly shows affliction. Ang’s employment of watercolor evokes a powerful contrast between the medium and the subject. Behind the spontaneity and dexterity of Ang’s painterly strokes lies a disconcerting image of humanity forced to resign to his devastating fate. (A.M.)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":"
Ang Kiukok (1931 - 2005) Seated Figure signed and dated 1976 (lower right) watercolor on paper 25\" x 19\" (64 cm x 48 cm