Classic Sanso opened at Galerie Stephanie last February 9 to a select group of art collectors, critics, and friends of the artist. The quaint but successful gathering had the artist himself meeting his guests. After a highly successful preview, the much-awaited exhibit Classic Sanso is now set to formally open at the Podium on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 at 6:30PM.
Classic Sanso is witness to a remarkable show of the internationally acclaimed Spanish-Filipino painter Juvenal Sanso of works revisiting his earlier themes and motifs. Known in the past decade for his highly regarded Moderno series – exploring the intense, highly colorful, and creative interpretations of particular views and sceneries he found memorable – the intrepid Presidential Medal of Merit awardee taps deeper into the realm of his memories to show us works that follow the conceptual line that has made him the pre-eminent Philippine visual artist today. His depictions of landscapes, seascapes, and floral scenes culled from his vast and well-travelled memories radiates with an energy and dynamism that is both alluring and captivating. His use of water is demonstrative of his singular ability to capture its many characteristics, from the vibrancy of tides to the tranquility of lakes.
“I’d like to make one point clear: when I repeat myself, I feel that it is an enriching experience, because the aspect of composition is what makes any painting a vital aspect—its changeability within the same form.”
-Juvenal Sanso
Classic Sanso contains 40 rare works culled from the artist’s studio on canvas and paper. Classic Sanso shows Sanso at his very best—full of life, energy, and passion for his art.
A renowned painter, Juvenal Sanso is one of the best-known members of the Philippine Modernist movement. Having graduated from the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines, he has as his contemporaries National Artists Jose Joya, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, and Napoleon Abueva (his batchmate in UP). His teachers were National Artists Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino. A foremost master, Sanso has had a long and stellar career capped by a number of awards and recognitions including a King’s Cross of Isabella knighthood from the King of Spain, membership into the Order of Chevalier from the French Government, and a Presidential Medal of Merit from the Republic of the Philippines. His works are represented in the collections of some 40 museums in the world, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleaveland Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Rosenwald National Gallery of Washington, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. His collectors include the Rothchild Family, Nelson Rockefeller, Vincent Price, Elsa Schiaperelli, Jean Cacteau, and many prominent American, European, and Filipino families.
On Tuesday, February 21 at the Atrium of the Podium Mall on ADB Avenue, the exhibit opens to the public—allowing for the full appreciation of the immense talents of one of the creative titan in Philippine art. For inquiries, please contact (632) 634-7954; (632) 709-1488; or email info@galeriejoaquin.com.