THE SHIFTING TONES OF REALISM

One can say that realism has been a sustained performance in Philippine art — an ever-evolving gesture that captures the mood and temperature of a moment so acutely that it becomes, almost by default, the emblem of its era.

- CARLOMAR ARCANGEL DAOANA

Nona Garcia

If one seeks proof, one only need look at the sweep of works gathered for Leon Gallery’s recent year-end auction, “The Kingly Treasures,” that hit the gavel last Saturday, Dec. 6, at G/F Eurovilla 1 on Rufino and Legazpi Streets in Makati. Across 160 lots, we witnessed how realism — whether social, psychological, or fabulist — continues to shape the ways we see ourselves and the stories we tell.The lineage, of course, is long and storied, marked at this auction by the presence of Juan Luna, whose shadow still hangs over Philippine painting like a stern but brilliant ancestor. Yet what feels invigorating in this selection is how midcareer artists — those firmly rooted yet still inventing their own vocabularies — are steering realism into new territories.