'Rediscovering Romeo Tabuena' at Ayala Museum

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Museum presents “Rediscovering Romeo Tabuena: The Later Work” slated on May 23 at the Ground Floor Gallery of Ayala Museum. The show runs until July 19.

Presented in partnership with the Filipino Heritage Festival and the Philippine Embassy in Mexico, the exhibit is part of the annual celebration of National Heritage Month.

“Rediscovering Romeo Tabuena: The Later Work” re-presents the works of Tabuena, who, since the 1950s, has settled in San Miguel de Allendre, Mexico.

Tabuena was born in Iloilo City in 1921. He was one of the pioneering artists who was part of the Philippine Art Gallery (PAG) which opened in 1951. The PAG was an institution that played an important role in the development of the Philippine art scene from the 1950s to 1969 when it closed its doors. It was also in this gallery where Tabuena, together with the postwar Neorealist group — Vicente Manansala, HR Ocampo, Cesar Legaspi, Victor Oteyza, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, and Nena Saguil — found a home with their groundbreaking works.

Tabuena’s works were constantly exhibited and were very saleable in this gallery. Most of these artists were later to be recognized as National Artists by the Philippine government.

Tabuena studied architecture at the Mapua Institute of Technology and fine arts at the University of the Philippines. Afterwards, he studied at the Art Students League in New York in 1952 and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiére in France in 1954. One of his major works is a mural entitled “Filipiniana” which was commissioned by the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C.

Although he remains a Filipino citizen, he has never returned to the country since he left for Mexico more than half a century ago. Despite his absence, he has participated in exhibitions and staged solo exhibitions — a 10-year retrospective at the Philippine Art Gallery in Manila (1959), a one-man show at the International Salon of the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City (1962), and one-man shows in Manila (1973 and 1981) and Mexico City (1975). He was the official Philippine delegate to the Eighth Biennial of Sao Paolo, Brazil, in 1965.

In 2007, he was awarded the Presidential Merit Award by the Philippine Government. His talent and contributions as an artist were recognized on various occasions by the Mexican government. In 2000, Tabuena was honored with a Millennium Show in recognition of the cultural agreement between the Mexican and Philippine governments.

For information, call 757-7117 to 21 local 28 or visit www.ayalamuseum.org.