Internationally-renowned Manila-based artist Juvenal Sansó presents another dimension of his highly creative oeuvre by presenting 26 abstract works in “Sansó Abstract,” on Feb. 18 -26, at the second level of The Podium on ADB Avenue in Mandaluyong City.
The works draw from Sansó’s highly popular textile designs from the 1960’s which were earlier presented in the archival exhibit “Fundamental Sansó.”
The abstract designs were done by Sansó in the 1960s and ’70s when he was a much sought-after and very successful designer of textiles and fabrics for top fashion houses such as Bianchini-Ferrier, Balenciaga and Synergy.
Although his work with textile designs were mostly geometrical and involved visually attractive patterns, “a lot of the work was random”, Sansó now recalls, “and that was the fun of it.”
Still highly fascinated with colors and shapes, he pursued his interest in abstract art by painting miniature works on colored slides. This work involved a variety of techniques—from using oil and certain chemicals, to burning on the slides and leaving colored imprints.
He set aside these works until a little less than a decade ago when he was contemplating of leaving his Paris atelier and sending most of his things back to the Philippines. He found his colored slides and bursting with energy and enthusiasm, decided to convert the artworks there into acrylics on canvas.
Sansó received the knighthood from the three countries he has lived in. He received the King’s Cross of Isabella from the King of Spain, Chevalier des Arts et Letres from France and the Presidential Medal of Merit from the Republic of the Philippines.
A product of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, he also studied at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Academia di Belle Arti in Rome and Academie des Beaux Arts in Paris.
“After my textile designs which were really the beginning of my interest in abstraction, I decided to do away with the geometrical and repetitive patterns,” Sansó says. “I just let the colors and the shapes define the emotive impact of what I wanted to express.”
“Sansó Abstract” is presented by Galerie Joaquin Podium in cooperation with Galerie Stephanie. Call 6347954 and 7091488; visit www.galeriejoaquin.com and www.galeriestephanie.com.