Arturo Luz (1926 - 2021)
Sacred Mountain
signed (lower right and verso) dated 1995 (verso)
acrylic on canvas
36" x 48" (91 cm x 122 cm)


Accompanied by a certificate issued by Ms. Luisa Luz-Lansiganconfirming the authenticity of this lot
PROVENANCEAcquired directly from the artist



Arturo Luz's Cities of the Past series in the 1990s is a visual odyssey of an artist's lingering recollections. Here, Luz reimagines and reconstructs the old-world opulence of Oriental civilizations. The artist presents the expanse of what the fusion of vividness of the imaginative faculty and memories of past experiences could engender. Rod. Paras-Perez writes: "Luz actually feels that a sense of magic and enchantment is indeed an intrinsic aspect of these ancient structures. But he tries to achieve this, not with fantasy, but with precise and minimally stated images." In this piece, a sacred mountain, presumably of Hindu or Buddhist sanctity, emerges from a solid black terrain. Formed by intricate and interweaving grids of white lines, the mountain's figure is surmounted by cupolas and juxtaposed against a toluidine red sky. The grids sweepingly point up to the heavens, imbuing the piece with a hallowed atmosphere. The expressiveness of the lines, full of restraint in form yet intimate in essence, adds potency to this work. This unique execution is perhaps one of the reasons why Luz's imagined and abstracted landscapes are the most adored in his celebrated oeuvre. (A.M.)