Jeepney Fantasia: Yellow Queen
signed and dated 1983 (lower right)
oil on canvas
48" x 60" (122 cm x 152 cm)
Accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot


LITERATUREReyes, Cid. Edwin Wilwayco. Antipolo City: Fatima University Gallery Foundation, Inc., 2017. Full color illustration on pages 74 - 75, with photo caption on page 75
In 1972, Edwin Wilwayco finished his studies at the University of the Philippines with flying colors. Aside from a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Wilwayco was also conferred Award of Excellence, Fourth Year Advertising Design and Thesis; Best Individual Piece, Fourth Year Advertising Design; and the Pitoy Moreno Scholarship in Design. Later that year, he would be introduced to the "Saturday Group of Artists," which included H.R. Ocampo, Cesar Legaspi, Malang Santos, Onib Olmedo, and Eduardo Castrillo. He would later join the Philippine Advertising Counselors (PAC) as Studio Artist under the executive directorship of Romulo Olazo. Years later, in 1982, Wilwayco would submit his application for a study grant in painting to the British Council Manila. He would eventually be accepted as a scholar at the West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, England. As a student, Wilwayco did a series of works: The Farnham Series, Hangers and Ropes Series, and Chairs and Cathedrals Series. These works would later be showcased at The Hidalgo Gallery in Makati in 1983. But these works were far isolated from his native roots. Notably, they were much more attuned to his British experience. One of Wilwayco's teachers at West Surrey commented on his susceptibility to fully embrace the rudiments of Western art, therefore depicting more and more foreign, alien scenes, giving his works an artificial, forced atmosphere. Hence, upon his return to the Philippines later in 1982, Wilwayco would touch on a subject intimately attached to his native sensibilities: the iconic jeepney. Thus, the genesis of the Jeepney Fantasia series. In the Jeepney Fantasia series, Wilwayco pays homage to the traditional Filipino jeepney, dubbed the "King of Philippine Roads." In these works, Wilwayco lends his exuberant imagination to a creative redefining of the iconic and timeless form of the jeepney. Unlike his British works, which failed to generate an impact on the local art scene, the Jeepney Fantasia works were lauded by the revered art critics of that time. Rod. Paras Perez lauds the technical aspects of Wilwayco's Jeepney Fantasia in the article 'Finessing the Jeepney,' published in the March 21, 1989 issue of The Manila Chronicle: "Bravura brushstrokes careen through his canvas, encountering sometimes, a fragment of a steering wheel or a colorful mini-altar or those in tin horses, which are the pride of many macho jeepney drivers. Paras-Perez perceives the distinct Filipino expression captured in Wilwayco's newfound theme: "By brushstrokes so structured they evoke the very chaos created on every street by these earthbound pilots who do not wish to fly. This is Pinoy neo-expressionism." Paras-Perez also remarks on the harmonious weaving of figuration and abstraction, writing that the jeepney's presence is "never completely defined; only suggested." Beyond his celebration of the dynamic jeepney, Wilwayco's attunement to the aesthetics of his native land is also discerned through his employment of maximalism, an inherent element in Filipino art. Emmanuel Torres notes in his article 'The Jeepney as Fantasy,' published in the February 25, 1989 issue of The Manila Chronicle, that Wilwayco's renditions of jeepneys are "an affirmation of Pinoy aesthetics with its penchant for filling in every available space with décor." Wilwayco engendered a visual extravaganza of warm colors that evoke the natural tropical environment of the Philippines. The dynamic visual poetry from Wilwayco's employment of a tropical palette dominated by the warmness of yellows, blues, greens, and reds resonates with the lived experience of the typical Filipino. It certainly enkindled not only refinement in Wilwayco's native sensibilities but a coming of age for him as well. Through his Jeepney Fantasia series, Wilwayco finally emerged as a virtuoso in his own right, able to make his distinct path and imprint in Philippine art. (A.M.)