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Women in Art - Celebrating the International Women’s Day [National Museum of the Philippines]

Basket Weaver Painting (1974) by Norma Belleza
Basket Weaver (1974) by Norma Belleza


The International Women’s Day every March 8 is a global celebration of women’s achievements in different aspects of society and to raise awareness about women’s equality. 


The National Museum of the Philippines has been an advocate of women and gender equality. Through the years, our Gender and Development (GAD) Committee has launched several exhibitions and has implemented free public programs which were well-received here in our flagship museums and in our regional facilities all over the country. 


The National Fine Arts Collection (NFAC) holds a number of works of esteemed Filipina artists exhibited in its galleries and hallways. Last February, in celebration of the National Arts Month, the #NationalMuseumPH launched its newest exhibition:

 

The Philippine Center New York (PCNY) Core Collection of 1974: A Homecoming Exhibition. 


The section in the Philippine Center New York (PCNY) Core Collection of 1974: A Homecoming Exhibition where Lilian Hwang's two calligrams are displayed
The section in the Philippine Center New York (PCNY) Core Collection of 1974: A Homecoming Exhibition where Lilian Hwang's two calligrams are displayed


This exhibition, located in Galleries XXVII to XXVIII of the National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), features 115 paintings out of the 120 paintings brought to New York, USA in 1974 for the inauguration of the Philippine Center. 


Two women artists are represented in this exhibition, Norma Belleza and Lilian Hwang. 


Painting on the wall  Installation view of Belleza's Basket Weaver is displayed
Installation view of Belleza's Basket Weaver is displayed


Belleza, born in 1939 in San Fernando, Pampanga, studied fine arts at the University of Santo Tomas in 1962. She had her first solo exhibition at the now defunct Philippine Art Gallery located in Azcarraga Street (present-day Claro M. Recto Avenue) in 1963. Her early works were dark and gloomy but later transformed into colorful works depicting women vendors and potters. In this exhibition gallery is her 1974 painting entitled “Basket Weaver” which illustrates a woman making baskets. 


Belleza painted her subjects in vivid colors and her woman figures in brown. It was also in 1974 that the Presidential Decree No. 442, a decree instituting the Labor Code of the Philippines was amended wherein working conditions for women workers were mentioned. 


Belleza won various recognitions and awards in the annual art competitions of the Art Association of the Philippines and in the Gabriela Silang Art Competition. She is married to artist Angelito Antonio who is also represented in the PCNY Core Collection of 1974. 


Painting Green, Yellow, Red, Purple (1974) by Lilian Hwang
Green, Yellow, Red, Purple (1974) by Lilian Hwang

Painting Shocking Pink, Orange, Maroon (1974) by Lilian Hwang
Shocking Pink, Orange, Maroon (1974) by Lilian Hwang

 

Found in the adjacent gallery is Lilian Hwang’s two acrylic paintings entitled “Green, Yellow, Red, Purple” (1973) and “Shocking Pink, Orange, Maroon (1974). Hwang labels her works as ‘calligrams’ which she identifies as geometric patterns painted in green, blue, and yellow and other colors. She learned cartoons under Pol Galvez and Rodolfo Paras-Perez, the latter being her mentor, and whose works are also part of this exhibition. 


Hwang exhibited at the Galerie Bleue and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in the seventies and eighties. In 1984, she participated in the inter-gallery exhibition at the CCP entitled “Ugat Suri” organized by the Asean Institute of Art in Manila.


The #NationalMuseumPh has re-opened its galleries to the public starting March 2, 2021. Come and view these artworks and the rest of the exhibition galleries at the NMFA by registering at reservation.nationalmuseum.gov.ph. For those who prefer to stay at home, here’s the link for the 360-degrees Virtual Tour of the PCNY Homecoming Exhibition:

http://pamana.ph/ncr/manila/pcny360.html.



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Text and photos by NMP FAD

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

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