LOT 37
MALANG SANTOS
B. Philippines, 1928
Vendor, 1997
Signed and dated “Malang 25.XI.97” on lower right
Oil on canvas
13.5 x 17.5 cm
Provenance Private Collection, Singapore
RM 10,000 – RM 15,000
Mauro Malang Santos is known for his colourful genre paintings that feature simplified forms. Barrio Fiesta, commissioned in 1958 by the FGU-Insular Life Building, is among his paintings. He was born in Santa Cruz, Manila, on January 20, 1928 and started taking drawing lessons under Teodoro Buenaventura when he was ten. He developed his reputation first as a cartoonist, then later as a painter. Together with other well-known artists, he launched ‘Art for the Masses’ in 1966 in order for art to become accessible to more consumers through prints at reasonable prices. He is also one of the 1963 TOYM Awardees.
His art has lately become more abstract and often portrays his signature
images of women in traditional dress with fruits in baskets and bilao. Vivid
colours straight from the tube, unmixed, continue to dominate his canvases. He continues to experiment in the use of various media. In January of 2007, he celebrated his 78th birthday with an exhibit of recent works at the Art Centre in SM Megamall in the Philippines.