Fine artists of Panay: A pioneering study of their works and lives

Abstract

This paper documents the works and lives of selected visual artists from Panay provinces. The selection of the artist was based on meeting at least two of the following criteria: (1) The artist should have a major award(s) in any prestigious national fine arts contests which included the MADE (Metrobank Art and Design Excellence), AAP (Art Association of the Philippines), Petron, GSIS (Government Service Insurance System), and the Biennial Dumaguete Open Terra Cotta Festival contests; (2) He/she should have had one-man or two-man exhibitions at reputed galleries; and (3) He/she should be active in the local art scene, meaning, a continuous schedule of exhibits during the past three years. Mostly self-taught, the artists’ artistic inclinations manifested early in childhood when they discovered their talents; this led to their resolve to seriously pursue with enduring fervor their art careers. Their sense of calling amid a less ideal art scene did not give way to the voice of conformity but they have maintained a clear sense of identity and destiny as inspiring art icons in their milieu. The analyses of the works of these artists lead to the observation of the Panayanon artistic tradition. Aside from the formalist descriptions of the artworks’ features, the analyses go further into the contextual and evaluative levels that reveal a highly nuanced meaning and semantic richness of the works. The paintings and sculptural pieces of the artists are expressions of their true “voices”, fresh innovations that have earned accolades even if these innovations are untamed by the academe.