18 May 2017

JUVENAL SANSO: UNDISCLOSED FIGURES
July 16 - August 15, 2017
Opens July 15, 6:30PM

Fundacion Sanso invites you to the opening of two exhibitions which are focused on the human figure: Juvenal Sanso’s Undisclosed Figures and Rostros by guest artist Isabel Echevarria. Both exhibitions will open this Saturday, July 15, 6pm, at Fundacion Sanso, 32 V. Cruz St., San Juan.

Isabel Echevarria is adept in a various painting techniques, but she is most known for portraiture. Rostros is the artist’s own selection of portraits done for Manila-based clients over the past 35 years. A graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Modern Humanities, magna cum laude and a professional artist for more than 30 years, Isabel has had over 38 solo exhibitions and over 70 group exhibitions in Asia, the United States, Europe, and Latin America. A 2004 Orensanz awardee, she constantly participates in various shows in mainstream galleries around the world. Recognized artistically in Manila since 1981, she appears in several books published in the Philippines, Spain, and Germany. Her portraits hang in several museums and state offices in the Philippines and in Spain. Her oils are found in private collections in Asia, the Middle East, the United States and Europe.

Juvenal Sanso's early career was spotlighted after he won both the grand prize for the Traditional Oils and the Traditional Watercolor Categories in the 1951 Art Association of the Philippines Painting Competition for what are basically portraits, namely “The Sorcerer” and “Incubus”. His early work from Manila and Paris, done in traditional and expressionistic styles, is marked by whimsical and grotesque figures, which, he is quoted to have described as “expressing his inner turmoil” as a result of various traumatic experiences due to the war. Surprisingly, these figures have all but gone in his Brittany and flower series, which are recognized by most, as his major body of work. Undisclosed Figures peeks into a selection of the artist’s sketches and early works which has invariably affected other artforms Sanso has ventured into, but are contestably not as well-known as his painting: his printmaking, his scenography and costume design, and photography.

In his over 70 years of artmaking, Sanso been awarded several important awards and distinctions in his stellar career, including The Presidential Medal of Merit by the Republic of the Philippines for his invaluable contributions to the visual arts in May 20, 2006; The Distinguished Cross of Isabela, awarded by King Juan Carlos of Spain in January 8, 2007 for his exemplary work in the visual arts across countries, and, The Chevalier de l”ordre des Arts des Lettres conferred by the Ministry of Culture and Communications of the Republic of France in 2008.

Both Sanso and Echevarria started out their careers in the Philippines but made their mark in other countries. Both artists also share that their heritage and culture inform and inspire their work.