Lydia Velasco (b. 1942)
Haplos ni Ina VII
signed and dated 2021 (lower left)
oil on canvas
24" x 18" (61 cm x 46 cm)


Accompanied by a certificate issued by Galerie Artes andsigned by the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot




As a feminist, Lydia Velasco is a contemporary artist whose oeuvres are devoted to celebrating the femininity of the Filipina. Her muses, vivified with expressive features and vibrant complexion, exude an aura that is assertive of their glory, identity, and freedom amid a predominantly patriarchal society. Velasco describes her depictions of women as having an elongated physique and manifesting a masculine vigor. For art critic Cid Reyes, a Velasco woman is strong yet still overflowing with femininity, a “balancing act between grace and aggression.” A 2021 piece titled Haplos ni Ina VII, the painting depicts a mother adorned in floral designs, from hair accessories to the pattern of her garment, and a child asleep from her tender cradle. A mother’s tender touch is a constant theme in Velasco’s paintings, creating various versions of it for more than a decade. Her love for the arts was rooted in her childhood, taking inspiration from her parents who are also appreciators of art. Her father was a set designer for LVN studios while her mother was a homemaker who occasionally painted still life pieces. As a mother, her children followed in her footsteps as artists - Chi is into sculpture, Chigo is into contemporary arts, Owen is an art dealer, and Alona is the manager of the family-owned Galerie Artes. (P.I.R.)