“ELOGIO del Agua,” (In praise of Water), the inaugural exhibit of Juvenal Sansó’s year-long retrospective “Timeless Sansó: 70 Years in Art,” will open at Fundacion Sansó on Jan. 28.
Throughout Juvenal Sansó’s (b. 1929) seven decades-long career, his affinity with water has always been one of the more striking characteristics of his art. As a 4-year-old boy, he crossed oceans from his native Catalonia to finally settle in Manila in a house near the Pasig River.
From this vantage point, Sansó’s career has since established an international legacy that encompassed France, Italy, Spain and the Philippines.
A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Merit Award from the Republic of the Philippines, Sansó was also given the Distinguished Cross of Isabela by King Juan Carlos of Spain, and the Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts des Lettres by the French Republic.
In 1984, the Museum of Philippine Art in Manila hosted a 400-work exhibit of his works on the theme of water. In that exhibit, Sansó’s lyrical expressionism manifested in landscapes of verve and dynamism that were by turns hopeful, tranquil, wistful and melancholic.
Fittingly, the exhibition also served as a farewell to Sansó’s close friend, the late Yves le Dantec, whose family house in Brittany served as Sansó’s summer home for 24 years.
Now, on the occasion of his 70th year as a visual artist, “Elogio del Agua” will serve as the first of seven Sansó exhibitions throughout 2016.
With exhibitions at Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Lopez Museum, Vargas Museum and the Kalaw Ledesma Foundation, and two exhibits at the Fundacion Sansó, “Timeless Sansó” is a milestone event in the Philippine art scene, celebrating the life and career of one of the country’s most important figures.
“Elogio del Agua” will be on display until Oct. 1. Fundacion Sansó is a nonprofit institution with a mandate to preserve and promote the artistic legacy of Juvenal Sansó.
It is at 32 V. Cruz St., Sta. Lucia, San Juan City; open to the public every day from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Call 9521568, 0998-5723360; e-mail fundacionsanso@gmail.com.
The next exhibit of “Timeless Sansó: 70 Years in Art,” “Encouragement and Opportunity: Purita, Juvy, and the AAP” will open at the Kalaw-Ledsma Foundation in Makati on Feb. 2, followed by exhibits at Ateneo Art Gallery (“Other: Zobel and Sansó,” Feb. 10); Ayala Museum (“Sansó Setting the Stage,” July 18; Vargas Museum (“Sansó at UP: A Homecoming,” Aug. 11); Lopez Museum (“Two Halves of A Whole,” Aug. 25), before moving back to Fundacion Sansó on Nov. 23 for the final “Tribute to Sansó” exhibition.