Summary
Highlights
Tina Kiko, Professor of Art and Design History at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts and President of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, introduces the episode. She will discuss Pacita Abad's 'Two Orphans: Refugees of Cambodia,' part of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' 21st Century Art Museum collection.
Pacita Abad, born in Batanes in 1946, is celebrated as an international artist who lived and traveled across six continents. Her vibrant 'trapunto' paintings reflect her vivacious personality and diverse cultural experiences. She produced over 5,000 works in 32 years, exhibiting globally. Even while battling illness, she continued to create and share her art, like painting the Alkaf Bridge in Singapore and holding a solo exhibition, 'Circles in My Mind,' before her passing in 2004 at age 58.
Abad's early works, including 'Two Orphans,' demonstrate her global perspective. While living in Thailand in 1979, she initially planned to paint local village life. However, witnessing the Cambodian-Vietnamese War and the influx of refugees led her to volunteer in refugee camps and depict the plight of the refugees in her art.
In 1981, Abad's solo exhibition, 'Portraits of Cambodia,' at the Boston University Art Gallery, featured 30 paintings from 1979-1980, including 'Two Orphans.' Art critic Richard M. Harley described her brushstrokes as fast and random, focusing on the emotional impact rather than precise details. 'Two Orphans' captures two children embracing, depicting fear and uncertainty through expressive faces, subdued colors, and immediate hatching strokes, representing the intensity of suffering among displaced children. Her work stood apart from journalistic photographs by portraying humanity and keeping the stories alive.