MANILA, PHILIPPINES — For its first virtual exhibition of 2021, Ayala Museum presents a virtual re-staging of The Real H.R. Ocampo in celebration of the National Artist’s 110th birth anniversary this year.
The Real H.R. Ocampo from the Paulino and Hetty Que Collection was curated by the late Mr. Ramon Villegas, a respected Filipino writer and antiquarian. The exhibition was originally presented at the Ayala Museum in 2013.
The exhibition features 51 paintings, works on paper, and drawings that cover a wide range of Ocampo’s body of work throughout his life; from his Proletarian period of the 1930s and World War II to the highly chromatic works of pure abstraction in the decade before his death. During the 1930s to mid-1940s, his art reflected both social realism and formalism when he often depicted poverty stricken humanity. It was towards the end of World War II where he began to shift towards non objectivism, with his works becoming more flat, figurative, and organic.
Assembled over a period of 30 years from the artist’s colleagues and selected patrons, with some paintings repatriated from the United States, this collection is one of the largest private holdings of H.R. Ocampo’s work.
This exhibition is supplemented by two online events to enrich the appreciation for H.R. Ocampo’s body of work. On March 6, an exclusive Virtual Guided Tour will take viewers through the exhibition with Ayala Museum’s Senior Curator Kenneth Esguerra. While on April 24, a virtual lecture with Karen Flores will discuss the life and artistry of H.R. Ocampo.
This exhibition is also part of Ayala Museum’s Images of Nation program which showcases works by Filipino artists who have been named National Artists in the Visual Arts. Its primary aim is to share the extraordinary vision and formal excellence embodied in this award.
The Real H.R. Ocampo from the Paulino and Hetty Que Collection will be virtually on show until April 30, 2021. The exhibition and registration for the events can be viewed at ayalamuseum.org/hr-ocampo.
