Imaginary Landscape No. 5
signed (lower left) and dated 1999 (verso)
acrylic on canvas
36"x48"(91cmx122cm)
Accompanied by a certificate issued by Ms. Luisa Luz-Lansigan confirming the authenticity of this lot



The distilled magnificence of Arturo Luz's imaginary landscapes takes cues from the "reinvented" and "transformed" grandeur of ancient Oriental civilizations immortalized in his iconic Cities of the Past series in the 1990s. Luz's vivid recollections of his extensive Asian travels during the late 1980s, supported by the numerous photographs he took during these sojourns, resulted in an acclaimed body of work that presents tangible heritages borne from his fertile imagination and rendered using his trademark geometric abstract-minimalist style. With his Cities of the Past and succeeding works, Luz reconstructed the numerous lost civilizations whose majestic urban landscapes are now only perceived in the annals of history. In Imaginary Landscape No. 5, Luz presents an assemblage of what seems to be ancient palaces. Set on three alternating strips of black and brown, monochromatic grids of lines form the framework of the grass-like edifices. With their sweeping vertical contours, Luz gives a dynamic quality to the structures. This distinct characteristic is enough to penetrate and stimulate the viewer's imagination so as to generate a picture of an architectural spectacle. Despite the potency of the piece, it does not come out as overbearing. The work gives off a tranquil atmosphere, akin to the gentle swaying of grass in the afternoon breeze, due to Luz's mathematical instincts resulting in a refined precision and coherence of linear forms. Thus, Luz breathes an idyllic, new life into the long-vanished structures that once dominated the sublime landscape of a lost city. (A.M.)