Tuesday, November 11, 2008

His Art, Our Heart - Amorsolo Retrospective


www.amorsoloretro.com


Fernando Amorsolo,
First National Artist.


He portrayed his ideals through his art, capturing the essence of Filipino beauty and sunlight on canvas.

The Amorsolo Retrospective aims to take another look at our first National Artist Fernando Amorsolo through a four-month multi-venue exhibition of his finest works. This is all made possible by our many sponsors, particularly our co-presenter, Metrobank.

This rare gathering of his paintings, illustrations and sketches hopes to cultivate a deeper understanding of Filipino culture and values as seen through the eyes of Amorsolo. His art was a reflection of his values. They depicted a fervent idealism, a sense of community, the respect of women, the love of beauty, the dignity of hard work, and a celebration of our country’s history.

Join us as we celebrate one of the greatest Filipino painters and the beauty he saw in everything.



About Amorsolo

Fernando Amorsolo, the First Philippine National Artist for Visual Arts, is well known for his portraits and paintings of women and landscapes. But he is best known for his backlight technique, his greatest contribution to painting. Using this trademark technique, his subjects become outlined against a golden glow and a burst of light in one part of the canvas serves to highlight small details nearby. He had what one would call a love affair with sunlight. And it showed clearly in his pieces. His works were always suffused with natural light, which made for rich and vibrant colors.

With this, his idealism is clearly reflected in his work. The light shining on the Filipina beauty rivals the glow in her eyes. The daily routines that occupy his subjects become illuminated with his brush. The setting is simple and bountiful, unfamiliar to darkness and hunger and strife.


EXHIBITS

UP JORGE B. VARGAS MUSEUM AND FILIPINIANA RESEARCH CENTER
Capturing Anxieties: Amorsolo, His Contemporaries and Pictures of the War
September 23 to December 19, 2008

LOPEZ MEMORIAL MUSEUM
Tell-Tale The Artist as Storyteller, Amorsolo as Co-Author
September 24, 2008 to April 4, 2009

NATIONAL ART GALLERY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE PHILIPPINES
Days of Drawing, Portraits of Passage
September 25, 2008 to January 15, 2009

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF MANILA
bayANInanding: The Motherland and the Harvest of Maestro Amorsolo
September 26, 2008 to January 13, 2009

YUCHENGCO MUSEUM
Mukhang Tsinoy: Portraits by Fernando Amorsolo
October 1, 2008 to January 17, 2009

GSIS MUSEUM OF ART
SALIW: Rituals in Amorsolo’s Art
October 2 to December 20, 2008

AYALA MUSEUM
Amorsolo’s Women Concealed and Revealed
October 24, 2008 to March 8, 2009




FERNANDO AMORSOLO SEVEN-MUSEUM EXHIBITION

Fernando C. Amorsolo is the most distinguished painter in the history of twentieth century Philippine art. As the country's first National Artist in the Visual Arts, he is recognized for his brilliant paintings, genre sketches and illustrations capturing character and essence of Filipino life, rural landscapes and cultural traditions. To this day, his works hold a timeless appeal to Filipino and international audiences around the world.

Published by CRIBS Foundation, Inc. with ArtPostAsia, the Fernando Amorsolo 186-page catalogue is an important record of the seven exhibitions held in seven of the country’s leading museums, and contains highly informative editorial content on his life and artistry.

The catalogs are available at


* Ayala Museum
* GSIS Museum of Art
* Lopez Memorial Museum
* Metropolitan Museum of Manila
* UP Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center
* Yuchengco Museum
* National Museum Bookstore
* The Peninsula Manila, Newsstand


Only a limited run will be available.