MANILA, Philippines–A strong assembly of works by Filipino Modernists headline Leon Gallery’s first auction of the year.

This is in partnership with Asian Cultural Council (ACC), which has been fostering cultural exchanges between the United States and Asia for several decades now.

The Asian Cultural Council Philippines Art Auction will be held on Feb. 7, 2 p.m., at G/F, Eurovilla 1, Rufino and Legaspi Sts. Makati City.

Proceeds from the sale will go to ACC’s grant-giving program which has supported Filipino artists.

Established in 1963, ACC gives grants to artists, scholars, and arts and humanities professionals, as well as organizations and educational institutions from the US and Asia for research, study and creative work.

Old masters

Featured in the auction are works by old masters, Modernist pieces, contemporary art and antique furniture.

A rare piece by Fernando Amorsolo to be put up on sale is his 1935 oil on canvas “Lavandera,” which shows a lady in the nude washing her clothes by the river. The painting was part of the collection of Don Enrique Zobel, and has a starting price of P1 million.

Jerry Elizalde Navarro’s 1979 oil on canvas “Dark Days in Tripoli” has been described by writer Paul Zafaralla as possessing a “stirring dichotomy of dynamic but controlled virtual explosion against a visually static background.” Its starting price is P180,000.

Another noteworthy piece is Jose Joya’s 1979 acrylic on canvas “Karma,” which displays the artist’s “color sense (finding) expression with paint-loaded brushes or spatula, creating textures heavy with energy.” Its starting bid is P1.2 million.

Vicente Manansala’s “Still Life,” an oil on canvas which is signed and dated 1965-1966, would be auctioned off starting at P900,000. This painting was part of the artist’s experimentation with multiple perspectives through transparent planes.

Untitled pieces

One of the contemporary artworks in the auction is Ronald Ventura’s untitled piece signed and dated 2005. The oil on canvas, which features the image of a “DogMan,” has a starting price of P120,000.

Kiko Escora’s untitled piece, signed and dated 2000, uses a mixture of oil and acrylic to depict the “fiery edgy youths.” The painting resembles a front cover of fashion advertisements of some high-end punk magazine.

Also showcased are Cesar Legaspi’s “Ritual,” which won third place in the 1951 AAP Annual Art Competition; Manansala’s “Man, Girl and Cock,” which recently surfaced in Sotheby’s from a French collection; H.R. Ocampo’s “A Sonata for August;” and Anita Magsaysay Ho’s “Baskets III.”

Other artists included in the auction are Benedicto Cabrera, Lao Lianbien, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, Napoleon Abueva, Prudencio Lamarroza, Romulo Galicano, Eduardo Castrillo, Marcel Antonio, Juanito Torres, Jason Montinola, Jose John Santos III, Geraldine Javier, and Maria Taniguchi.

Call 8562781; e-mail [email protected]; Visit leon-gallery.com.