Search Mindscape
signed and dated 2004 (lower right)
oil on canvas
21" x 28" (53 cm x 71 cm)

Accompanied by a certificate issued by the heirs of the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot




Among Justin Nuyda’s well-known creations, his Mindscape series stands out as one of his most famous. A "picture of the sights" as his website puts it, Nuyda's search for the landscape of the mind resulted in a myriad of paintings that put the abstractionist on the Philippine history books, all vastly different as one’s internal life is wont to do.In this Mindscape piece, a 2004 work entitled Search Mindscape, Nuyda's first love shows herself. Although an artist through and through, Nuyda proclaimed that collecting and studying butterflies (a lepidopterist) is his first love, his interest starting young with his father's and uncle's influences. Soon, the young Nuyda joins his family as they explore the Philippine forests in search of butterflies new and old. He continues even when alone, so deep was his admiration for Mother Nature.This Search Mindscape echoes a possible trip Nuyda may have undertaken. With the clear blue background and brown trunk-like abstractions, it is not hard to perceive the skies under which Nuyda toiled to explore previously uncharted places or the trees that served as guides.Nuyda’s Mindscape series is as much the viewers’ as it is Nuyda’s. “This is why I entitle my artworks, ‘Search Mindscape,’” he said in a 2021 Manilla Bulletin article. “There will always be a narrative behind my artwork that will be challenging to express [...] On the other hand, viewers, in their individual ways, can define and redefine, with open- mindedness, the mindscapes that I paint.” (Hannah Valiente)