Geolette Marie Esguerra

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Pacita Abad Salcedo Auctions

<p>This generation of art lovers and collectors is witnessing <strong>Pacita Abad</strong>’s historic ascent in the world of international mainstream art. Far ahead of her time, she experienced and pushed back against the art establishment’s biases against gender, race, and art-making methodologies early in her career, as poignantly documented in the 100 rejection slips kept by the artist. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:500px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749653477598abad-chronology.jpg" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Pacita Abad in full scuba gear at the opening of her solo show at the Ayala Museum in 1986, Assaulting the Deep Sea. IMAGE: Wyg Tysman</span></span></span></div><p>In an interview with journalist <strong>Yvettre Sitten</strong>, Abad recounted how a curator who visited her studio in Washington, DC, dismissed her art as craft, to which she responded feistily: “Hey, you better wake up because a lot of people from Asia and Latin America are now coming to America.” Abad continued to explain how these artists are bringing new materials and methods in artmaking, as she had been doing, and challenged the conventional screens by which art was assessed and appreciated.</p><p>She chipped away at the barriers, producing cracks that have been blown wide open with posthumous international exhibitions and events focused on her body of work. They reveal Abad’s startling qualities as a chronicler of realities stitched, woven, and painted into a cross-cultural pastiche of traditional art and craft-based mediums. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:500px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749653543238ANEMONE.jpeg" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Anemone, by Pacita Abad, 1992, oil and acrylic primed on canvas, 84 1/2 x 49 1/2 inches, estimated at P1,800,000-P2,600,000. Image: Salcedo Auctions</span></span></span></div><p>In 2023, a major retrospective organized by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (which traveled to the San Francis Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1, and the Art Gallery of Ontario) signaled Abad’s reemergence in the grandest of ways. Fifty of her works were assembled for the exhibition, which received critical acclaim. This was followed by successful outings at prestigious venues, such as Frieze London and Art Basel Hong Kong, where her installation sold for USD 500,000, indicating an increasing clamor for her works. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/metro-style/living/2025/5/31/salcedo-auctions-finer-pursuits-philippine-art-rare-collectibles-1453" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">This Stateman’s Art Followed Him Through Life—Now, It Finds Its Next Home</a></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:500px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749653637757GORENG DALAM DUA GAYA II small.jpeg" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Gareng Dalam Dua Gaya II, by Pacita Abad, 1997, oil, batik, tie-dyed cloth, sequins, plastic buttons, and embroidered mirrors on stitched and padded canvas, 49 1/2 x 33 inches, estimated at P1,800,000-P2,600,000 Image: Salcedo Auctions</span></span></span>At <strong>Salcedo Auctions’ Finer Pursuits: Important Philippine Art &amp; Rare Collectibles</strong> sale on June 14, two of her works will be up for bidding. They exemplify significant milestones in Abad’s journey. “<strong>Anemone</strong>” from 1992 reflects the artist’s early inclination toward post-impressionism. She abandons the traditional construct in “<strong>Gareng Dalam Dua Gaya II</strong>” from 1997, which demonstrates Abad’s head-on dive into her ‘trapunto’ phase. Drawing from Indonesian cultural elements, two characters inspired by shadow puppets called ‘wayang kulit’ are depicted in electrifying colors, garbed in batik fabrics sewn into the canvas, and adorned with beaded necklaces.</div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:500px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749653738958Jack-Garrity-with-Pacita-Abad-Wayang-Paintings-in-Manila---Pacita-Abad-Art-Estate.jpg" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Abad’s husband, Jack Garrity, posing with the painting in Indonesia. Image: portrait courtesy of Jack Garrity</span></span></span></div><p>The two works are samples from the polar opposites of her stylistic journey. They are, however, united in the joyfulness evoked by the colors and the rich variety of materials that populate her canvas, and their maker’s courageous exploration of art in all its forms. </p><div><br/></div><div><em>Salcedo Auctions &#x27;Finer Pursuits: Important Philippine Art &amp; Rare Collectibles&#x27; sale presented in association with Exclusive Bank Partner UnionBank Elite is on Saturday, 14 June 2025, 2 PM at NEX Tower, 6786 Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Preview ongoing up to June 13, from 9 AM-6 PM. View the catalogue and register to bid at <a href="https://members.salcedoauctions.com/auction/finer_pursuits_june2025" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FINER PURSUITS</a> </em></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Pacita Abad’s posthumous rise to international prominence creates a clamor for the trailblazer’s works</p>

Pacita Abad’s posthumous rise to international prominence creates a clamor for the trailblazer’s works

EXCLUSIVE: The Finer Pursuits of Global Filipino Artist Pacita Abad

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EXCLUSIVE: The Finer Pursuits of Global Filipino Artist Pacita Abad

Devi de Veyra

Published June 11, 2025 11:01 PM PHT

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Anemone

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