WORKS by top Thomasian visual artists such as National Artists Ang Kiukok, Arturo Luz, and J. Elizalde Navarro, and Ramon Orlina and Romulo Olazo fetched high bidding prices in the Magnificent September Auction of Leon Gallery last September 13.
“Seated Figure” by Ang was sold for P10 million, the highest bid among his five other auctioned works. The expressionist painting shows a nude human figure with arms clasping the knees and with the skeletal framework highly prominent.
Luz’s “Desert Architecture” was sold for P800,000. It shows a carnation-pink geometric landscape of ancient Asian temples.
Luz’s three-piece mixed media “Collage” also rose from the pegged price of P100,000 to the final hammer price of P500,000.
The famous “Permutation Series” by late abstractionist Olaza was sold for P1.75 million from a starting price of P300,000. Among four of the artworks sold from his “Diaphonous Series,” two were bought for P1.2 million, both bearing his translucent abstract forms.
Meanwhile, sculptor and architect Orlina’s untitled emerald green-colored sculpture was sold for P550,000.
An untitled piece by UST Painting alumnus Ronald Ventura, which sold for P5.5 million, displays his style of hyperrealism. It shows a pale-white skin toned woman, sitting in a relaxed position contrasted by a dynamic, orange-colored background.
The late Oscar Zalameda’s “Portrait of Chona Kasten,” a pastel oil-on-canvas portrait of Senator Claro M. Recto’s daughter Maria Priscilla “Chona” Silos Recto-Kasten, considered a fashionista during her days, was sold for P450,000.
Works of emerging contemporary artists from the UST College of Fine Arts and Design also were sold for fabulous prices.
Titled “First to Blink,” a 122 x 152 painting of a detailed, closed-up face by Advertising Arts alumnus Ronald Caringal sold for P80,000.
“Three Very Landscapes,” Buen Calubayan’s depiction of Mt. Banahaw, fetched P550,000.
According to auction director Jaime Ponce de Leon, the floor prices of the artworks are reasonable and affordable.
“The auction has a good balance of contemporary and classic works so we also balance the starting prices we set,” Ponce de Leon said in an interview with the Varsitarian. “It undergoes a piece for piece basis; we don’t just consider the materials or the artwork itself. We make sure that we have something affordable for every art collector.”
The lowest floor price in the 185-piece September auction was P20,000.
Leon Gallery, which was founded in 2010, specializes in “historically important and museum quality Philippine art.” Works of Filipino master painters Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Fabian de la Rosa and Fernando Amorsolo form the core of the gallery’s collection. Amierielle Anne A. Bulan
