Arts and Culture

Filipino and Spanish artists deconstruct Picasso's 'Guernica'

July 11, 2011 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Following the success of last year’s “El Prado Project: Dialogue with the Masters,” Ayala Museum and the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines opened the exhibition “El Guernica: Deconstrucción.”

A pool of Filipino and Spanish contemporary artists, as in “El Prado,” produced new works of art inspired by the funereal Pablo Picasso painting, “Guernica.” Based on a grid image of the “Guernica” from an edition of the Revista Poesía dedicated to the said work, the participants chose portions of the artwork to interpret.

Artists, their friends and families, and numerous foreign delegates attended the “El Guernica: Deconstrucción” opening at Ayala Museum. Opening the event was Ayala Foundation president Victoria Garchitorena-Arpon, followed by a message delivered by Spanish Ambassador Jorge Domecq.

Ambassador Domecq and Garchitorena were joined by Spanish artists Juvenal Sanso, Betsy Westendorp and Cesar Caballero during the unveiling of the exhibit.

“Guernica” by Jaime Zobel

Also in attendance were artists Virgilio Avadio, Benjie Torrado Cabrera, Charlie Co, Igan D’Bayan, Reynold dela Cruz, Antipas Delotavo, Ramon Diaz, Ferdinand Doctolero, Roedil Geraldo, Dennis Gonzales, Willy Tadeo Layug, Pablo Baen Santos and Toto Tarrosa. All the aforementioned have contributed their works to the exhibition.

The original “Guernica” mural is located at Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. It was named after the town bombed by German and Italian warplanes during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. The bleak, monochromatic painting shows the suffering brought about by war inflicted upon innocent civilians.

“El Guernica: Deconstrucción” will be available for public viewing at the Ground Floor Gallery of Ayala Museum until Aug. 7.

This exhibition is sponsored by Mapfre Insular Insurance Corporation, Indra Sistemas, and Instituto de Turismo de España (Turespaña). Additional support was provided by Museo Reina Sofía, Narciso Abril, Carlos Alberdi, Manuel Borja-Villel, Andres Soria, Fernando Muñoz and Javier Menéndez.