The #NationalMuseumPh commemorates the 85^th birth anniversary of contemporary visual artist Renato A. Rocha,  born #OnThisDay in 1937, by featuring his 1973 wood relief- “Air Flight”.

Born in Uson, Masbate on March 8, 1937, Renato Rocha, also known as Rene, was the second among four children of Ramon Rocha and Consuelo Autor. Growing up in Tabaco, Albay, Rene would mold animal and human figures out of clay soil from termite hills (nuno sa punso) in rice fields. After attending high school in Masbate, he moved to Manila to study at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where he majored in Sculpture and graduated in 1963. As a young artist, he worked with Filipino master sculptors Anastacio Caedo from 1959-1960 and Napoleon Abueva from 1961-1965, later proclaimed a National Artist for Visual Arts in 1976 – both of which had tremendous influence on Rene’s artistry. 

Rocha preferred using kamagong, molave, and narra wood sourced through his friends from the province in making his abstract figures of animals, families, women, and other free forms. In 1978, he had his first solo exhibition at the Manila Peninsula to which Prof. Eric Torres commented “in his hands, Philippine wood never looked more luxurious, warmer and richer, enhancing the distinctive sensuous forms of his sculpture.” He was commissioned for several major works by the Far East Bank and Trust Company, UP Los Baños, Malacañang, Ford Foundation, and Development Academy of the Philippines, to name a few. He also received various awards from 1960 until 1980 including the Araw ng Manila Award in Sculpture. 

Rocha passed away on August 24, 2001, from chronic liver disease. He was survived by his wife and seven children who once assisted Rene in making his commissioned works.

The National Museum of Fine Arts is honored to be the home of several artworks by the renowned sculptor. One of the pieces displayed in our “Lilok, Hulma, at Tipon: Modern Sculptures in the Philippines” exhibition is “Air Flight”, a 1973 wood relief, which, based on archival materials acquired from the artist’s family, is believed to be the work commissioned for the Ford Foundation in 1973, and now an important part of the National Fine Arts Collection. 

Other works attributed to Rene Rocha from the Collection of the National Library of the Philippines, along with other modern sculptures by leading Filipino artists can be found in the “Lilok, Hulma, at Tipon” exhibition at the Philippine Modern Sculptures Hall (Gallery XXIX) of the National Museum of Fine Arts. 

#MuseumFromHome
#RenatoRocha
#ReneRocha
#LilokHulmaAtTipon
#PhilippineModernSculptures
#PhilippineArt
#AbstractArt

Text and photo by NMP FAD

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines

As we commemorate her birth anniversary today, the #NationalMuseumPH looks back at the artistry of Yakan textiles and the legacy of Manlilikha ng Bayan Ambalang Ausalin, who recently passed away at the age of 78 last 18 February 2022.

A master magtetennun (weaver) of Yakan textiles, MB Ambalang Ausalin, or Apuh Ambalang, was renowned for her excellent skills in Yakan weaving techniques and designs, such as the sinalu’an and seputangan, the trademark of which were eye-catching colors and balanced combination of minute diamonds and other geometric designs. 

Yakan textile is said to be a reflection of the “pure beauty of nature.” Each design and shape weaved through the cloth carries meaning drawn from nature. Plant and animal motifs in the designs speak of their cultural significance to their community. For instance, the punoh punoh, which abound the sides of the seputangan, represents the mountains. The diamonds which are commonly used in the seputangan, as seen in the dinglu or mata mata (diamond/eye) and kabban buddi (diamond/triangle) designs, symbolize rice grains and wealth. The X-shaped designs, which form an illusion when grouped with the diamonds, represent rice mortars. The combination of diamonds and X-shaped designs thus alludes to a bountiful harvest and captures an aspect of the Yakan community as being agriculturists. 

Some of the animal motifs seen in the bunga sama, include the kaba kaba (fairy or butterfly wings) and the snake, which are considered as the vehicles of spirits and a symbol of power and authority. These designs of the bunga sama, also trademarked for their bold and floral designs, are used particularly for the trousers of high-status males. 

For Apuh Ambalang, the close association between Yakan textiles and nature required her to be in commune with the environment, spirit ancestors, and the Creator and to manifest this harmony through her tools—the thread and the loom. This artistry, which she passed down to her daughters, nieces, and other weavers, strengthens the identity of the Yakan community and helps preserve their heritage, amidst the threat of these traditions disappearing in a more globalized world. 

#AmbalangAusalin
#GAMABA
#ManlilikhaNgBayan
#YakanTextiles

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division

Photo courtesy of the NCCA GAMABA Executive Council 

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 91st birth anniversary of National Artist for Visual Arts Ang Kiukok, born #OnThisDay in 1931 by featuring “Still Life” — his 1974 watercolor from the National Fine Arts Collection (NFAC). 

2001 National Artist for Visual Arts Ang Kiukok was born to Chinese immigrants Vicente Ang and Chin Lim. Born in Davao City, Kiukok started schooling at a Chinese high school, and in 1947, learned to create portraits in charcoal. After five years, Kiukok left Davao for Manila and took art classes at the University of Santo Tomas from 1952 to 1954, but he had to stop because of financial constraints. 

Ang Kiukok started his artistic career by producing watercolor paintings. His skill in this painting medium can be traced to his training in Chinese calligraphy. In 1954, at the age of 23, he held his first one-man exhibition, composed of more than 20 watercolor paintings. National Artist Vicente Manansala (1910-1981), one of his mentors at the UST, observed the artist’s proficiency in watercolor that Manansala even showed Kiukok’s watercolors to his students. In this painting, watermelon slices are on top of a table rendered in his signature cubist-expressionist style.  

Roces (2000) mentioned that “most of Kiukok’s watercolors are still life because this medium excels in the simple and spontaneous. Kiukok applies a wet on wet technique along with his direct “brushmanship” to render a watermelon’s red succulence.” 

National Artist Ang Kiukok died on May 9, 2005, in Quezon City at the age of 74. 

“Still Life” is exhibited on the executive floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts.  You may visit other works of the National Artist at the Pillars of Philippine Modernism Gallery (Gallery XIX) and at The Philippine Center New York Core Collection of 1974: A Homecoming Exhibition (Galleries XXVII and XXVIII).

#OnThisDay
#MuseumFromHome
#AngKiukok

Text by NMP FAD
Photo by Bengy Toda

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines