Birth Anniversaries of Nena Saguil and Impy Pilapil

The National Museum of the Philippines celebrates the birthdays of two women artists: modernist painter Nena Saguil and sculptor Impy Pilapil #OnThisDay.

Nena Saguil (1914-1994) was one of the country’s early modernists and abstraction pioneers. Her works reflect her penchant for mysticism and geometric shapes symbolizing the universe at the macro and micro levels. Born Simplicia Laconico Saguil in Santa Cruz, Manila, her art training started when she enrolled at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where she graduated with an Award of Excellence in 1949.

In 1954, she was granted the Walter Damrosch Scholarship, which enabled her to study abstract and modern art at the Institute of Spanish Culture in Spain. She also studied at the School of American Arts in Paris where she had her solo exhibition at the Galerie Raymond Creuze. This was followed by many more shows across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In 2006, Saguil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit.

Imelda “Impy” Pilapil (b. 1949) is a painter, printmaker, and sculptor who features abstract works reflecting her exploration of personal and spiritual growth. Hailing from Cavite, she first enrolled at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts in the 1960s and then continued her studies at Accademia Italiana in Rome, Italy after receiving a grant from the Italian Government.

She proceeded to study lithography at Pratt Graphics Center in New York in 1977. She later joined the Arts Association of the Philippines and was also an active member of the World Print Council, U.S.A., International Sculpture Center, and EARTHWATCH Save the Trees Movement and conducts art workshops for underprivileged children. Pilapil’s ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Gallery XVII, entitled CIRCA features her sculptural works from 1994 to 2017.

Nena Saguil and Impy Pilapil are represented in the National Fine Arts Collection of the National Museum of the Philippines through seven paintings by Saguil and four works by Pilapil. The works of Saguil show her transition from figurative painting after the war to high abstraction in the 1960s. One of her abstract works, “Untitled (Abstract),” is an oil on canvas painting created in 1972 and part of the exhibitions at the National Museum of Fine Arts on the third floor of Southwest Wing Hallway Gallery.

On the other hand, the works of Impy Pilapil in the collection includes two serigraph prints and two mixed media sculpture representing her journey from printmaking to sculpture. Her two chandelier sculptures, “Fiesta I” and “Fiesta II,” were created in 2008, and can be viewed at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Sandiganbayan Reception Hall Gallery on the ground floor.

The National Museum of Fine Arts is now open for walk-in visitors! For visitor guidelines, please visit www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph. You may also view the 360 degrees virtual tour of selected NMFA galleries on the link https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nmfa360/HTML5/NMFA360.html. See you at the National Museum!

#Nena Saguil
#ImpyPilapil
#OnThisDay

Text by NMP-FAD. Images by Bengy Toda and NMP-FAD
© National Museum of the Philippines (2022)