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Lot Essay
José T. Joya is widely considered to be one of the most accomplished modern abstractionists from the Philippines, with his gestural, Oriental-influenced compositions merging the best of Western and Eastern art traditions. Joya was born in 1931 and even in his youth, displayed a strong aptitude for drawing and art. Among his numerous accolades, Joya won several prestigious art prizes and scholarships which funded exchange programs in Europe, including a one year grant to study painting in Madrid from the Spanish government's Instituto de Cultura Hispanica. Fernando Zóbel, himself a formidable abstract artist now resident in Spain, was pivotal in influencing the travel-study grants to Madrid awarded to Joya and other young Philippine artists during the 1950s, such as Arturo Luz, Nena Saguil and Larry Tronco. Most significantly, Joya won a Fulbright-Smith Mundt scholarship which allowed him to embark upon his Master's degree at the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan, which Anita Magsaysay-Ho had attended before him. Like Magsaysay-Ho, the period which Joya spent in America proved to be foundational for his development in abstract expression.
During the 1950s and 60s, Joya continued to play an important role in the Philippine art scene. He was part of the 'new wave' of modern artists who exhibited at the important Philippine Art Gallery (PAG), and a member of the 'Saturday Group' collective. In 1962, he became the president of the Art Association of the Philippines, and with Napoleon Abueva, was selected to represent the Philippines at the Venice Biennale. He received grants from the John D. Rockefeller III Trust and the Ford Foundation to study at the Pratt Institute in New York in the late 1960s.
Painted in 1963, Ocean Landscape was created at the height of Jose Joya's career, amidst some of his most triumphant accomplishments. Characteristic of Joya's work in the 60s, this well-sized composition bears textural impasto and gestural black calligraphic lines, contrasted against the fluid and diaphanous tones of turquoise, silver-white and sea-foam green. The abstract forms which make up the overall landscape are reminiscent of floating continents and plateaus: the islands of Joya's native Philippines. At the same time, it also recalls Joya's dynamic portrayals of Manila Bay produced around the same period. The prismatic and weightless beauty of Ocean Landscape evokes a lush homage to nature, while affirming Joya's seamless integration of the modernist aesthetic with an abiding Eastern sensibility.
During the 1950s and 60s, Joya continued to play an important role in the Philippine art scene. He was part of the 'new wave' of modern artists who exhibited at the important Philippine Art Gallery (PAG), and a member of the 'Saturday Group' collective. In 1962, he became the president of the Art Association of the Philippines, and with Napoleon Abueva, was selected to represent the Philippines at the Venice Biennale. He received grants from the John D. Rockefeller III Trust and the Ford Foundation to study at the Pratt Institute in New York in the late 1960s.
Painted in 1963, Ocean Landscape was created at the height of Jose Joya's career, amidst some of his most triumphant accomplishments. Characteristic of Joya's work in the 60s, this well-sized composition bears textural impasto and gestural black calligraphic lines, contrasted against the fluid and diaphanous tones of turquoise, silver-white and sea-foam green. The abstract forms which make up the overall landscape are reminiscent of floating continents and plateaus: the islands of Joya's native Philippines. At the same time, it also recalls Joya's dynamic portrayals of Manila Bay produced around the same period. The prismatic and weightless beauty of Ocean Landscape evokes a lush homage to nature, while affirming Joya's seamless integration of the modernist aesthetic with an abiding Eastern sensibility.