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Art Protis of Frederico Aguilar Alcuaz |
The Art Protis of FedericoAguilar Alcuaz, a temporary exhibit at the third floor of the National
Museum of Fine Arts, features 20 of National Artist (for Visual
Arts, Painting, Sculpture and Mixed Media in 2009) Federico Aguilar Alcuaz’s
(1932-2011) most beautiful art textile works, made in the 1970s and 1980s in
Brno, Barcelona
and Manila, from
the collection of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
Check out “National
Museum of Fine Arts”
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Gallery entrance |
Some of these works were featured in the 1971 Modern
Tapestries Exhibit. Opened last March 13, 2018, it was supposed to run until May
25, 2018 but was still ongoing during my visit.
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Abismo y Precipio (1971) |
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Apotheosis (1980, Barcelona) |
Alcuaz, renowned in the art
world for his diverse talents in visual arts, painting, sculpture and mixed
media, made use of a unique Czech technique of creating unwoven art works which
were invented in the 1950s by a team (F. Pohl, V. Skala and J. Haluz) from the
Wool Research Institute in Brno (the second biggest city of the Czech Republic).
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Autumn Night (1970, Manila) |
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Encounter D (1980, Barcelona) |
The three also invented another procedure called Arteg, a technology based on
the principle of seamless interconnection of colored wool fleeces which were
put together through the aid of a needle punching machine.
In the patented process, fleece
wool is stitched by a machine onto a fabric backing after being layered by an
artist. The technique, originally aimed for apparel fabric production, was soon
mainly used for creating distinct artworks which was suitably named Art Protis.
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Green Earth (1970) |
Art Protis was artistically
developed by famous Czech artists Jiří Trnka (known for his illustrations and
animations) and Antonín Kybal (known for producing textiles to appease the
stylistic demands of modernist architecture since the late 1920s). Kybal,
merging his background in painting with a deep knowledge of textile production
and handcraft, became the single most important promoter of Art Protis locally
and abroad.
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Metaphor (1980) |
The works Kybal created with
the Art Protis technique were prominent in the parts of Czechoslovak pavilions
at World exhibitions. Awarded gold
medals, both at EXPO ‘67 in Montreal and EXPO ‘70 in Osaka, they were
eventually recognized by the art world.
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Mythical Yellow (1979, Manila) |
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Reencuentro C (1980, Barcelona) |
Using this foreign technique and his skills
and talent, Alcuaz was able create outstanding collage artworks.
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Reencuentro U (1980, Barcelona) |
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Reminiscencia No. 5 (1979, Brno) |
After finishing his studies
in Madrid, this
wide-eyed wanderer of the globalizing art world even back stayed on to live and
familiarized himself with the art and culture of Europe. In 1968, Alcuaz
visited Prague where his interest was immediately caught by the Art Protis.
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Reminiscencia No. 14 (1979, Brno) |
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Reminiscencia No. 20 (1979, Brno) |
In the
premises of Vlněna textile company (where the special stitching machine was
located) in Brno, a Czech artist introduced him to the new, one-of-a-kind textile
collage technique. By then, Alcuaz fell in love, not only with the art,
but with the city of Brno as well.
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Reminiscencia No. 23 (1979, Brno) |
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Reminiscencia No. 25 (1979, Brno) |
After two decades, his works have
become highly favored, not only for its refinement and European flair, but also
for his ease and pleasure in conveying “uncluttered playfulness” with constant
fluidity.
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Show Window (1980) |
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Showelle (1980, Barcelona) |
In this set of Art Protis, he made art in an unconventional manner,
creating non-woven tapestries by first preparing wool, which comes in raw sheets
dyed in different colors, then cutting them to pieces and placing on top of one
another like a collage.
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Simile (1980, Barcelona) |
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Spring in the Alley (1975) |
Through a warp knitting machine, the finished layers were
then pressed and stitched together on to a canvas.
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The Loggia (1975) |
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The Window (1975) |
The
Art Protis of Federico Aguilar Alcuaz:
Gallery XXI, GSIS North Hall, 3/F, National
Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro
Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100. Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph. Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph. Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM - 4PM.
Admission is free. Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.
Visitors shall be limited to
100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at
least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through
email. Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only. Walk-in
visitors will NOT be accommodated.
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