95th Birth Anniversary of Mauro Malang Santos

Posted on: January 20, 2023 | Keith Reburiano

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 95^th birth anniversary of cartoonist and modernist painter Mauro Malang Santos #OnThisDay in 1928.

Mauro Malang Santos (1928-2017) belonged to the group of artists who took inspiration from folk art and whose works are characterized by geometric shapes, simplified figures, festive colors, and decorative forms. The National Fine Arts Collection has four of his works. One of these is an undated serigraph entitled “Sampaguita Vendor (93/249)” which depicts a simplified figure of a woman portrayed with long black hair dressed in a blue blouse with white sleeves and a red skirt. The woman holds a bagful of flowers and stands under the opening of an arched structure with a cross at its summit. In the background are images of houses, plants, trees, and a mountain at the end using solid geometric shapes. This work by Malang was donated to the National Museum in 2018 by Ms. Dora C. Afable.

Malang was born on January 20, 1928, in Santa Cruz, Manila. His artistic training started when he took drawing lessons from Teodoro Buenaventura (1863-1950). He later continued his studies at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts. Malang’s talent was recognized when he won awards in art competitions organized by the Art Association of the Philippines, the Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists, and the Art Directors Guild. He was also awarded the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1995. Mauro Malang Santos, who signed his works with Malang, passed away on June 10, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of works representing his artistic style and his contribution to Philippine art.

You may view his artworks at the Pillars of Philippine Modernism (Gallery XVIII) and The Philippine Center New York Core Collection: A Homecoming Exhibition (Galleries XXVII and XXVIII) at the National Museum of Fine Arts. For visitor guidelines, please visit https://bit.ly/3pqZ2iJ. 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 your National Museum!

#MauroMalangSantos #OnThisDay

Text and photo by NMP-FAD