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WHEN
artist Romi Mananquil left fame and a lucrative career
in the Philippines for Canada in 1985, little did he
know that he would return to the country of his birth in
2004 as a virtual stranger. The Philippine art scene,
says the 65-year-old Mananquil, had changed in the 19
years that he was slowly establishing his niche in
Canada’s visual arts. But to Mananquil, his 2004 Manila
homecoming for the 1st Philippine Artists Group of
Canada Exhibition was a wake-up call that strengthened
his resolve to reconnect to his roots.
“I found
out that I was almost totally forgotten. The galleries
that I used to deal with were no longer there, and I
lost track of all the buyers and collectors who
patronized my art,” he told the BusinessMirror.
“This
was a wake-up call for me to rebuild my bridge toward
the Philippine art,” continued Mananquil. “I have
neglected my Philippine connection, and I challenged
myself to do something about this.”
Uniquely
Pinoy
IT took
him another four years to return to the Philippines. And
this time, Mananquil is determined to reclaim his spot
in Philippine art.
 Mananquil
has a one-man exhibit, titled Uniquely Pinoy,
which is ongoing until April 30 as part of this year’s
University of the
Philippines’
centennial celebration in Diliman, Quezon City.
His show
is sponsored by the UP
College
of Fine Arts and the UP Alumni Association Toronto, and
is also endorsed by the Philippine Press Club Ontario,
Filipino Center Toronto, Kalayaan Cultural Community
Center and several prominent Filipino-Canadian community
leaders in Ontario.
“I
thought my first homecoming solo would be doubly
significant if I do it within the campus during the
centenary celebrations. It is homecoming not only to the
country of my birth but to my alma mater, which shaped
my being into the artist I am today,” Mananquil said
with palpable pride.
Mananquil is the product of UP along with other National
Artists, all giants in Philippine contemporary
arts—Fernando Amorsolo, Guillermo Tolentino, Carlos V.
Francisco, Napoleon Abueva, Cesar Legazpi, Vicente
Manansala, Jose Joya, Abdulmari Imao and Benedicto
Cabrera, famously known as BenCab. Mananquil’s body of
work depicts a simple, serene Philippine pastoral life
in a play of colors and powerful strokes evoking deep
emotion.
“Each
painting has given me a rich association of my being a
warm-blooded Pinoy,” he said. “Each painting has a story
behind it. It’s not enough to look at it; you have to
know how to read a picture.”
Several
of his oil paintings are that of a banca docked
by its lonesome along a riverbank; children playing with
their kanyong kawayan (bamboo cannon) in obvious
delight; a mother and child bonding as they do the
laundry in a river; a family’s silent pause for
orasyon (the Angelus) at dusk; a proud moment for
the Motherland as freedom is regained by Filipino
revolutionaries; a market scene where the ubiquitous
Philippine tricycle grabs a visitor’s attention.
An
established and recognized artist at 65
AT 65,
he’s one of the most established and recognized artists
in Canada, although his name may not ring a bell among
younger Filipinos. Time now to recall how, in 1983, he
and two other artists were commissioned by the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas to design the flora and fauna
series of Philippine bank notes and coins with
symbols—the Philippine Eagle,
Mindoro’s tamaraw, the coconut and the fish Pandaka pygmaea, among others.
He
designed the first decagonal P2 coin, the P5 bill (now
demonetized), and the P1,000 bill featuring the Ifugao
terraces and manunggul jar, still in circulation. His
design for the P5 bill—the “Declaration of Philippine
Independence”—was adapted for the P100,000 centennial
note, which has been entered into the Guinness Book of
World Records.
“I
realized that we Filipino artists abroad should keep our
art alive in our homeland. My idealism kept me so
focused in practicing my art in Canada,” said Mananquil,
who is also a member of the Portrait Society of America.
Many of
his artworks have been used as magazine covers. His
illustrations graced the pages of The Seven Ages of
Romulo by National Artist for Literature Nick
Joaquin, and the 10-volume Filipino Heritage by Alfredo
Roces.
His
first mural in 1978 is on permanent display at the
Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and
Research in Agriculture in UP Los Baños in Laguna.
In
Canada one of his popular pieces is a portrait of
National Hero Jose Rizal wearing a barong Tagalog,
displayed at the front office of the Philippine
Consulate General in Toronto.
Mananquil’s paintings are also in the collections of art
patrons in the United States, the United Kingdom and
Australia today.
Asked
about his future plan, Mananquil said, “I plan to
continue to actively participate in Philippine art
activities whenever I can, as often as possible, even as
I continue my career as an artist in
North America.
I hope this show will encourage me enough to carry on
and inspire me to continue to honor my God and my
country with this gift that He has given me.” |
