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Lot Essay
"I cannot paint flowers. They are by nature too decorative and pretty. I like things that are very stark, elemental, simple, like a stone, a shell."
Arturo Luz
Arturo Luz is a widely awarded and highly acclaimed master abstractionist from the Philippines, the last of the generation of great modernists such as Vicente Manansala, Ang Kiukok and Anita Magsaysay-Ho. Apart from his numerous painting and sculptural achievements, Luz also ran the foremost modern art gallery, the Luz Gallery, in the Philippines for three decades, during which time he collaborated closely with other lauded artists such as Fernando Z?bel, BenCab and Roberto Chabet, staging some of their earliest solo shows and launching them as artistic names to be reckoned with.
Luz's own artworks are premised on the interplay of lines and linear forms. During the 1950s his works gradually evolved from full, figurative compositions into pared down expressions of geometrical clarity. Luz's ability to instill a sense of architectural balance into his paintings is unparalleled; the quality of drawing and draughtsmanship is a major element of his work.
Within Sky Forms, created in 1960, Luz turns the horizon into a stark rendition of linear severity. The intersection of sea and sky is cast into formally striated lines, and the movement of the clouds is represented by interwoven patterns of wavy lines, bringing to mind a geometric version of Van Gogh's Starry Night. Visually, there is neither volume nor perspectival depth in Luz's strictly two-dimensional works. Yet the soft gray background, gently dappled with yellow, lends texture and a sense of tactility to the overall composition. This is similar to Luz's other works which carry some form of textural speckling, matting or even mixed media such as the use of enamel, in order to imbue a sensory aspect to the austere visuals.
A particularly refined and progressive example of Luz's work at the turning point between the key decades of the 1950s and 1960s, Sky Forms reflects both Luz's personal evolution as well as a major contribution on his part to the face of modern art.
Arturo Luz
Arturo Luz is a widely awarded and highly acclaimed master abstractionist from the Philippines, the last of the generation of great modernists such as Vicente Manansala, Ang Kiukok and Anita Magsaysay-Ho. Apart from his numerous painting and sculptural achievements, Luz also ran the foremost modern art gallery, the Luz Gallery, in the Philippines for three decades, during which time he collaborated closely with other lauded artists such as Fernando Z?bel, BenCab and Roberto Chabet, staging some of their earliest solo shows and launching them as artistic names to be reckoned with.
Luz's own artworks are premised on the interplay of lines and linear forms. During the 1950s his works gradually evolved from full, figurative compositions into pared down expressions of geometrical clarity. Luz's ability to instill a sense of architectural balance into his paintings is unparalleled; the quality of drawing and draughtsmanship is a major element of his work.
Within Sky Forms, created in 1960, Luz turns the horizon into a stark rendition of linear severity. The intersection of sea and sky is cast into formally striated lines, and the movement of the clouds is represented by interwoven patterns of wavy lines, bringing to mind a geometric version of Van Gogh's Starry Night. Visually, there is neither volume nor perspectival depth in Luz's strictly two-dimensional works. Yet the soft gray background, gently dappled with yellow, lends texture and a sense of tactility to the overall composition. This is similar to Luz's other works which carry some form of textural speckling, matting or even mixed media such as the use of enamel, in order to imbue a sensory aspect to the austere visuals.
A particularly refined and progressive example of Luz's work at the turning point between the key decades of the 1950s and 1960s, Sky Forms reflects both Luz's personal evolution as well as a major contribution on his part to the face of modern art.