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SINGAPORE—It was Maria Delgado’s day off form work. But instead of heading to the malls, the Filipino boutique supervisor chose the museum to while away the time.
Delgado said she is not the usual art fanatic; but she came because the artworks on display are Filipino creations.
“You will always look for something Filipino when away from home and I’m very proud we have such treasure of art works,” she said.
Since they were put on display at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) in November last year, the 43 works of art that comprise the exhibit In the Eye of Modernity: Philippine Neo-Realist Masterworks have attracted thousands of visitors.
On loan from the Ateneo Art Gallery, the art pieces “represent the seminal paintings, prints, and sculptures that challenged the dominance of traditional art in post-colonial Philippines and eventually won for modern art wider public acceptance and recognition,” according to Minda Cruz, Philippine Ambassador to Singapore in her address during the exhibit’s opening.
“The Neo-Realists often served as inspiration or mentors-by-example to hundreds of Filipino artists who have made the Philippines a fountainhead of the creative arts in the region,” she said.
The exhibit includes works by renowned artists namely, Anita Magsaysay Ho, Romeo Tabuena, Diosdado Lorenzo, Jose Joya, Fernando Amorsolo, Hernando Ocampo, Federico Alcuaz, Fernando Zobel, Manuel Rodriguez Sr., Victor Oteyza, Arturo Luz, Alfonso Ossorio, David Cortez Medalla, Ang Kiukok, Vicente Manansala, Cesar Legaspi, Virgilio Aviado, Elizalde Navarro, and Napoleon Abueva.
Ramon Lerma, Ateneo Art Gallery’s director and chief curator, said the exhibition was through the initiative of the Philippine embassy in Singapore as part of the celebration of the 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“In light of the great interest in Singapore about Philippine art, we thought it best to show Singaporeans and expatriate Filipinos what we are best known for: the country's foremost collection of works by the postwar modernists,” Lerma said in an e-mail interview.
The art pieces, he said, showed that Filipino visual artists “hold their own in the international art scene,” noting that the Philippines can be called a “creative superpower” in the international scene.
The exhibit was featured in Time magazine, the New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune.
Lerma said that bringing the artworks to SAM was also Ateneo’s way of marking its 150th founding. The Ateneo Art Gallery is the first museum of modern art in the Philippines.
The stature of Ateneo’s art collection deserves nothing less than being on display at the SAM, Lerma said. He said he was delighted to know that the exhibition has been viewed my many visitors here.
Delgado was the sole Filipino during this writer’s visit to SAM one Tuesday morning, the others seen there were mostly Singaporeans.
Standing beside Delgado was Kevin, a Singaporean student. After looking at the paintings, Kevin became glued to one of the three television screens showing Filipino classic films. He looked entertained as he watched a comedy classic featuring Dolphy and Gloria Romero.
Lerma said the films proved an effective way “to transport audiences to the milieu when the artworks were created.”
“They provide a context for appreciating the works in light of the various themes presented in the exhibition,” he added.
As Delgado left SAM after close to an hour of stay, a group of students entered the museum and headed to the room housing the art pieces, for a glimpse of what their neighboring country is like through the Philippines long and rich tradition of artistic expression.
