Estudio Para Paco
signed and dated 1967 (lower right and in verso)
oil on canvas
15” x 19” (38 cm x 48 cm)

Provenance:
Galeria Cayon

One cannot examine modern art in the Philippines without the mention of Zobel, whose art not only helped shape modernism in the country but also impacted a whole generation of artists -- contemporaries and future ones alike; both from his generation and those who came thereafter.

After a period of four years -- or thereabouts -- of producing works in purely black and white, (Zobel said he suddenly got sick and tired of color) he began to reintroduce a different kind of color to his works -- “Anything but expressionist color. It was observed color,” he explained. This was in the early sixties. Thereafter, came his series christened as “El Jucar”, so named after a river in Spain with its indefinable colors. In this instance, he saw the need for color, ever so gently applied, for additional expressive content. “Not decorative color, but color that would give more meaning to the lines I put to canvas.”

Over and above these attributes, Zobel’s works contained a sophistication derived from his erudition and intellect, as well as sensitivity.