Fundacíon Sansó will mount an exhibit to mark Juvenal Sansó’s 88th birthday on Nov. 23 at Museo de Sansó in San Juan City.

“Juvenal Sansó: Expansive Vista” will exhibit a selection of Sansó’s early landscapes from private collections, alongside that of Fundacíon Sansó’s own. It will also feature one mural-size work from a private collection done in the early 1980s.

Born in Catalonia, Spain, in 1929, Sansó moved to Manila when he was five and spent his childhood in Paco.

When World War II broke out, he was nearly killed in one bombing. This resulted in Sansó’s Black Period when he painted exclusively in black and white with gruesome imagery.

The angst-filled paintings were eventually replaced by paintings with striking shades of red, green, orange and blue after he spent “24 summers” vacationing in Brittany, France, with his lifelong friend, Yves Le Dantec.

Being a multifaceted artist, Sansó has created masterpieces using oil, watercolor, acrylic and his favored ink-and-dry brush medium.

He has also produced prints, fine etchings, textile designs, set and costume designs for operas here and in France, and even photographs.

Throughout his 70 years of career, Sansó has won major awards and distinctions, such as the Presidential Medal of Merit from the Republic of the Philippines, Distinguished King’s Cross of Isabela from Spain, and Chavelier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France.

“Juvenal Sansó: Expansive Vista” will have a formal opening on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. and will run until Dec. 29. Museo Sansó is at 32 V. Cruz St., San Juan City. Call 9521568.