IN my last column I wrote about the 50th anniversary exhibit of the Saturday Group of Artists at the Main Gallery of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. It opened on March 3 and will run until May 6, 2018. In celebration of the group’s 50 years in the art and culture scene, the Saturday Group opened Saturday Group Gold: Celebrating 50 Years in Art, curated by Ricky Francisco, to showcase an exhibition of around 60 paintings by its current and founding members, as well as some of the group’s archival materials that will reveal its rich history and experience in the field of the arts.
There are many reasons why art lovers must see the show, but here I am listing down three that might hopefully inspire or motivate some to visit.
- Here you will see the best of the Saturday Group’s trademark Nude and Interaction paintings that were created through the years, alongside works in the abstract and figurative traditions that have evolved into the whimsical in recent times.
Incidentally, the bookshop-gallery (Solidaridad) of National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose served as the venue for the first Philippine exhibition devoted to Nudes in 1968, and then for the artworks devoted to Interactive Paintings in 1971. One year prior, in 1970, the first scholarship was awarded to one of the group’s nude models.
- When you visit the exhibit, you’d get to meet the 258 artists who have been part of the Saturday Group, as well as the 31 members who are currently active. Featured are the works of artists from the very first meetup at Taza de Oro in Malate in 1968, and those created by the current crop of members who are meeting in the group’s newest home at the Saturday Group Gallery in Shangri-La mall Edsa (2017).
It is not common knowledge that National Artist for Literature Cirilo F. Bautista is also a painter and has, in fact, been a part of the Saturday Group. Other National Artists for the Visual Arts who are also members or have become members at some point in time include the following (in order of conferment): Carlos Francisco, 1973; Vicente Manansala, 1981; Cesar Legaspi, 1990; HR Ocampo, 1991; Arturo Luz, 1997; Ang Kiukok, 2001; Jose Joya, 2003; Benedicto Cabrera, 2006; and Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, 2009.
- From the exhibit, visitors could learn about how the Saturday Group professionalized the art, as can be seen from the Saturday Balita, which ran from 1996 to 2001. Also being shown is a looping video on the group’s advocacies like educational outreach programs that presented opportunities to expand the artist’s reach.
These are more than enough reason to drop by and see the show live.