Onib Olmedo (1937 - 1996)
Untitled (Palayok and Bottles)
ca. 1990s
ink wash on paper board
30" x 21" (76 cm x 53 cm)


Accompanied by a certificate issued by Ms. Gisella Olmedo-Aranetaconfirming the authenticity of this lot

EXHIBITEDThe Link Ayala Center, Art Fair Philippines 2020: ArtFairPH/Projects,Makati City, February 21 - 23, 2020


One of the leading figurative expressionists of his time, Onib Olmedo had always given his subjects a distraught nature. His characters, often dehumanized or distorted to some degree, possess an eerie nature and populate a world that Olmedo has created for his audience to peer into. In this still life piece, we see a neglected morsel of Olmedo’s dark world. We now focus on what appears to be pots and bottles rather than the usual people that populate this world. The delineated figures are unshorn of disarray. The shoddy strokes invoke a feeling of nostalgia and longing, conforming to the woeful milieu that is ever-present in Olmedo’s world. In the strange world born from the dark recesses of Olmedo’s mind is the perpetual anguish that pervades nearly every scene. The gloom has come to be, in a way, his trademark— the setting’s populace continually sharing the burden of their pains. However, every so often, Olmedo gives us a glimpse into the brighter side of his realm. As in this still life, we bask in the perturbed air of his disfigured world, left to enjoy the simple scenery in all its twisted beauty