Mother and Child
signed and dated 1990 (lower right)
pastel on paper
19 1/2" x 12 1/2" (50 cm x 32 cm)

Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Alexander Richard Joya Baldovino confirming the authenticity of this lot
PROVENANCEPrivate collection, Manila



Joya's occasional dabbling into the figurative, primarily through his sketches and drawings, evidently brought out the foremost Filipino abstractionist's inherent connection to nature and the intersectionality of his cultural and proletariat roots. It is not only a way of seeing but a manner of inward contemplation, reflecting his relentless search for identity, both on a personal and cultural level. "Brown is quintessentially Filipino and beautiful. It is my favorite color for drawing...," Joya writes in the monograph Joya by Joya: Book of Drawings.Painted on Christmas Day, the date of creation of this Mother and Child piece points out to religious undertones, yet its composition evokes the native, evidenced by the traditional baro't saya worn by the mother. The figures are clearly an image of the Filipino masses (note the mother's humble clothing). In depicting such subjects, Joya not only indigenizes an enduring subject (In Philippine art, the theme of the "mother and child has long been associated with the iconography of Mary and Jesus, usually Western in orientation) but returns the hallowed holiday season back to its humble origins, void of any rampant commercial associations and leaning more on its essence: the celebration of dignified humility and compassionate humanity. (Adrian Maranan)