Revisit the Postwar Art Scene with “A Synergy of Ventures” at the Ateneo Art Gallery

In commemoration of the Fernando Zóbel Birth Centennial, the Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) and the Embassy of Spain in Manila present A Synergy of Ventures: The Postwar Art Scene, open for public viewing from 16 September 2024 until 12 July 2025. The exhibition will focus on the years immediately following the Second World War until the 1960s, a pivotal period in the development of Philippine modern art.

Fernando Zóbel, Carroza — FERNANDO ZÓBEL, “Carroza,” 1953, Polymer on wood, 119 cm x 59.5 cm., Gift of the Artist, Collection of Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University.

The exhibition will mainly present the core collection Fernando Zóbel had donated to the Ateneo de Manila University between 1959 to 1965, along with other pieces from the current AAG Collection. It will also feature loaned works from the family of Purita Kalaw Ledesma, the Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc. (KLFI), and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The exhibition will be supplemented by materials from the KLFI archives and the Zóbel archives courtesy of the Fundacion Juan March. These will be placed within the context and conditions of the time, during which a new visual idiom was evolving.

HR Ocampo, Isda at Mangga — HERNANDO R. OCAMPO, “Isda at Mangga,” 1952, Oil on canvas board, 33.5 x 43 cm., Gift of Fernando Zóbel, Collection of Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University.

Romeo Tabuena, Laundry — ROMEO TABUENA, “Laundry,” 1951, Oil on plywood, 60 x 30 cm., Gift of Fernando Zóbel, Collection of Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University.

This was the period when Zóbel eventually made the crucial decision to pursue a full-time art practice while still straddling corporate work. Returning from his studies in the United States in 1951, Zóbel encountered an emerging community bonded by the goal to elevate the status of artists and to expand the audience for art. They had the desire to develop a visual language more attuned to the anxieties of the postwar years, but were divided by opposing views on the role of art and, subsequently, on the modes of visual expression.

Jose Joya, Granadean Arabesque — JOSE JOYA, “Granadean Arabesque,” 1958, Oil on canvas, 118 x 305 cm., Gift of Fernando Zóbel, Collection of Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University.

Key figures include Purita Kalaw-Ledesma, Lydia Arguilla, Manuel Rodriguez Sr., and Arturo Luz with the establishment of the Art Association of the Philippines in 1948, The Philippine Art Gallery in 1951, The Contemporary Art Gallery in 1954, and the Luz Gallery in 1960, respectively. A Synergy of Ventures offers a glimpse into the beginnings of artists who are now considered stalwarts in Philippine art history. In their youth, their individual paths converged and helped pave the way for new ideas that have impacted the development of Philippine art.

A Synergy of Ventures: The Postwar Art Scene is open for public viewing from 16 September 2024 to 12 July 2025 at the Mr & Mrs Ching Tan Gallery and Mr & Mrs Chung Te Gallery, Ateneo Art Gallery, Soledad V Pangilinan Arts Wing, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University. The opening reception will be held on 15 September 2024, Sunday (by invitation only). The Ateneo Art Gallery is open from Monday to Saturday, 9:00am – 5:00pm. For more information, visit www.ateneoartgallery.com or email aag@ateneo.edu.

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