Celebrating "AGUILAR ALCUAZ"

“CELEBRATING AGUILAR ALCUAZ” AT THE GATEWAY SUITES

Some children pick up crayons and draw figures that look cute and fascinating to their parents. Other children see art in many forms and eventually grow up to be National Artists.

The late Federico Aguilar Alcuaz was truly a great Filipino artist. The Gateway Mall in cooperation with Galerie Joaquin pays tribute to National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz with an exhibit entitled “Celebrating Aguilar Alcuaz”.

Aguilar Alcuaz is a Filipino artist who has achieved worldwide acclaim. Locally, he received 1^st Prize in the 1953 UP Art Competition, and second prize in the 1954 Shell Annual Art Competition.

He also won first prize at the Premio Moncada, Prix Francisco Goya in Barcelona, first prize at the Pintura Sant Pol del Mar in 1961 and second prize at the Premio Vancell at the fourth biennial of Tarrasa in Barcelona, 1964.

In Europe, Alcuaz became enthralled with the works of Picasso, de Kooning, Jackson Pollack Matisse and Kandinsky. Thus, sprouted his series of abstract works, done in paper or in canvass, which the world applauded.

Aguilar Alcuaz also worked tirelessly on his tapestries with the Czechs at the historic city of Brno, outside of Prague.  In the early 1970s, he embarked on a project to capture the inner character and being of some of Manila’s influential people. He was able to convince personalities such as the late Jaime Cardinal sin, noted writer Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, and Jaime Laya to pose for him.

Then there are the “Alcuazaics”. True artist that he was, Aguilar Alcuaz worked on various available pieces of colored paper, cigarette pack covers, invitations and rolled paper using colors and patterns. The result?  Abstract arrangements to make mixed media art now known as the Alcuazaics. Pure creative genius. More than that, in a recent interview, his son Christian Aguilar, said that these pieces were important because they served as bonding moment with the family.

“Celebrating Aguilar Alcuaz” will run at the Gateway Suites, 4^th Floor of the Gateway Mall, Araneta Center from August 8 to 14, 2011.

     AUGUST 8, 2011  "EXHIBIT"