Biography
Filipino artist Vicente Manansala was one of the first Abstractionists on the country's art scene. The Cubist paintings and illustrations depicting contemporary life at the time were credited for bridging the gap between rural and city life. The artist often depicted the changing nation under the influence of Americans through the lens of abstract style. He explored different themes such as culture, intimacy, and poverty in his work. Today his work can be found in numerous collections, including the Philippine Center in New York, the Lopez Memorial Museum in Manila, the Singapore Art Museum, and the Honolulu Museum of Art. Manansala has received several awards for his art throughout his career, including the Republic Cultural Heritage Award and the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, and was posthumously awarded the National Artist in Painting.
Vicente Silva Manansala, born in 1910, honed his artistic skills from a young age when he began making copies of Sagrada Familia. At the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts, he showed exceptional skills in painting with oil which won him several scholarships and grants. After graduating from U.P, he went on to study at the School of Fine Arts in Canada thanks to the UNESCO funding, and later in Paris under Ferdinand Leger. In 1960 he traveled to the USA to study the stained glass followed by Otis School of Drawing in Los Angele.
Manansala has greatly admired artists who have achieved a balance between artistry and skill, as is the case with Picasso and Cezanne. For the artist, the process of making art is the same as making love.
In his work, featuring the everyday life of urban and rural people, Manansala employed repetition of form and shape. He often depicted everyday moments that perfectly reflected the relationships between family units and society to further the national identity. Color manipulation, which was a vital part of his artistic expression, eventually evolved into a form named Transparent Cubism.
Vicente Manansala was a member of Victorio Edades' artistic group Thirteen Moderns which was at the forefront of the modernist movement. In 1951 he had the first solo exhibition at the Manila Hotel.
Manansala's native approach to various subjects influenced generations of artists, including Manuel Baldemor, Malang Santos, Angelito Antonio, Mario Parial, Norma Belleza, and Antonio Austria. Throughout his decades-long career, he has successfully ushered the three art movements, developed an original style of cubism, and influenced numerous artists across the globe. Yet he only had eight solo exhibitions in his lifetime. Vicente Manansala passed away in 1981 in Manila, Philippines.
Nationality