For “Modern Parlance”, the artworks presented by Angelito Antonio differ from the paintings that the artist has come to be known for. They have become freer, more contemporary, less inhibited and more exciting in style. Antonio was inspired by the new-found significance of life he saw and experienced after several bouts with health issues. He has then translated these into colorful expressions of uniquely Antonio renderings. These unique compositions teem with frontally-oriented figures, courageously and artistically disregarding scale and proportion.

Serene Motion
8.25 x 11.5 in
Charcoal on Paper

Esteemed Profile
8.25 x 11.75 in
Charcoal on Paper

Featured too in this exceptional exhibit aside from important canvas works are several of the artist’s works on paper, which he considers a fundamental part of his physical recovery. Everyday events and moments are depicted in planes of bold, layered strokes that evoke what he expresses as the fullness of his life he feels as an artist. Cheerfully describing his artistic process for “Modern Parlance”, Antonio narrates that he has his own “internal interpretation” of the series; but interestingly leaves the works open to a thousand-fold readings and interpretations. Restricting the imagination of the audience is something he as an artist does not want to do.

Liberty
28.25 x 22.25 in
Oil on Brown Paper

Capricious
28.25 x 22.25 in
Oil on Brown Paper

Antonio is one of the last few living modernist masters of Philippine Art and having this exhibition is indeed a rare and honored opportunity, says Jack Teotico, Managing Director of Galerie Joaquin. The artist’s works, due to its formative cubism, has drawn parallels to those of National Artist Vicente Manansala, who was his composition professor at the University of Santo Tomas. But although Manansala’s cubist distortions kept a vigilant eye towards classical anatomy, Antonio’s are far more aggressive. What he has done for “Modern Parlance” is take his fifty-five years of experience as a visual artist to revisit old themes (such as vendors, cock fighters, and mother and child motifs) and offer a fresh take on these subjects. The resultant works are new visual images with strong textural effects, successfully providing the audience with an entirely new experience.

Angelito Antonio has an art career that spans over half a century. He studied visual arts at the University of Santo Tomas, wherein his teachers included National Artist Vicente Manansala and the late modernist master Galo Ocampo. Antonio has more than twenty (20) local and international awards to his credit. Some of these awards include the Grand Prize (1964) and 3rd Prize (1963) of the AAP’s annual art competition, and 2nd Prize at the Shell Art Awards (1962). Already an immense figure in the history of Philippine visual art, Antonio is one of the pillars of Philippine art to adhere to Modernism’s core tenet of dynamic expression.

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