MANILA, Philippines – The city was in shambles after the Battle of Manila in 1945, but from the rubble rose the Neo-realists of Philippine art history.

Hernando R. Ocampo, Cesar F. Legaspi, Victor Oteyza, Vicente S. Manansala, Romeo V. Tabuena, and Ramon A. Estella began the modern art movement in the Philippines, while Lydia “Lyd” Arguilla eventually put together the Philippine Art Gallery (PAG), the first gallery in the Philippines to showcase modern art.

While the PAG closed 18 years after it opened, its work lives on in an exhibit at the León Gallery, featuring 24 paintings of 15 artists, including pieces by Ang Kiukok, Arturo Luz, Fernando Zobel, and Jose Joya.

“Mid-Century Moderns: Important Modernist Painting from the Philippine Art Gallery” is a snapshot of Philippine life after the last war – a look at the realities that pervaded the era: poverty, alienation, and suffering.

The exhibit will run until September 8.

On September 9, after the “Mid-Century Moderns” exhibit, the “Magnificent September Auction 2017” will be held, where pieces from the exhibit will be sold. Also up for auction are work by Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Vicente Manansala, and Jose John Santos III.

– Rappler.com

The León Gallery, where the exhibit and the auction will be held, is located at G/F Eurovilla 1, Rufino corner Legazpi Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City.