Lot 328
  • 328

JOSE JOYA | Moss and White Sand

Estimate
1,000,000 - 1,500,000 HKD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Jose Joya
  • Moss and White Sand
  • Signed and dated 62; signed, titled, dated and affixed with exhibition label on the backing
  • Oil on board 
  • 61 by 122 cm; 24 by 48 in. 

Provenance

Luz Gallery, Manila, The Philippines
Private Asian Collection
Thence by descent to the present owner

Exhibited

Philippines, "Jose Joya: A 30 Year Retrospective", Museum of Philippine Art, 1981

Condition

This work is in good overall condition as viewed. There are some very minor possible losses at areas of very thick impasto, but these may be inherent to the artist's working method. All other inconsistencies are due to the artist's working method. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals very small spots of restoration, specifically in an area in the upper left corner and area the upper right quadrant. There are some small scattered spots of retouching on the surface. Framed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

"[The artist once] compared the act of painting to a "spontaneous outburst of passionate emotion... an aftermath of an intense pictorial idea, like the passing of a tempest leaving behind trails of a terrible tumult... a wild attempt to depict the onrushing tempo of the present jet-age modernity..."[1] Dancing across the painting with a riveting lyricism, the sensuous swatches of impastos and expressive strokes of Untitled (Abstract) exemplify the painterly finesse of Jose Joya at his most virtuosic and eloquent. Executed in 1962, at the pinnacle of Joya’s career, the present work is a poetic example from the artist’s sought-after series of gestural oil works which embraced the core principals of Abstract Expressionism.

A renowned pioneer and prominent member of the Thirteen Moderns, Jose Joya stands as one of the most celebrated figures of modern Filipino art. Joya’s unabashed ventures into abstraction and ability to convey the spirit of the natural beauty around him, distinguished the artist as a salient voice within his generation.

Born in 1931 in Manila, the artist displayed a gift for art at an early stage and graduated from the University of Philippines School of Fine Arts before he earned a scholarship to study in Madrid at the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica. He was later awarded a Fulbright-Smith Mundt scholarship which allowed him to pursue masters at the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan. His time in America proved to be pivotal as he found a deep affinity with the American contemporary movements that were gaining international prominence. Seeking to bring a Filipino style of abstract expressionism onto the international stage, he explored new frontiers by drawing on the fundamental ideals of action painting while mastering his own, personal practice and idioms.

Untitled (Abstract) displays with great acuity the artist’s mastery of the palette life, employed here to create the subtle tensions, complex rhythms and spontaneity within the work. Rendered in a soothing palette of deep greens, cool browns, taupe white and turquoise, the present painting offers a lively expression of the natural world. Offering a vista of simplified forms and waves of colour, Untitled (Abstract) captures the fresh innocence of spring or the rush of the sea against the sandy shores of a sun-kissed beach. Clusters of green and blue pigment gather at the top in smaller, more concentrated undulations. Their cool tones are tempered by the mixing of browns, as well as the brightness of the larger planes of white spread generously across the painting.  Sky, water and earth, seem to mesh into a whirlwind of movement and textures – at once harmonious yet forceful.

A captivating work of magnetic beauty, Untitled (Abstract) embodies the emotions and inner psyche of the artist. Each stroke, splash and swathe of colour expresses the very essence and purity of feeling that inspired Joya’s artistic process. “The kinetic quality of his art lies in the sweeping movement of the hand and art, not as in the performance of a neutral exercise, but in expressive gestures that are his alone...”[2]

[1] Alice G. Guillermo, Image to Meaning: Essays on Philippine Art, "Jose Joya: The Pursuit of Abstraction", Ateneo de Manila University Press, Philippines, 2001, p. 199

[2] Ibid, p. 198