Experience Lao Lianben: The Dr. Leovino Ma. Garcia collection

‘Water Dance 3,’ 1985, signed and dated (lower left), acrylic on hand-carved wood and painted over with oil, 122 cm x 244 cm

Leon Gallery presents the Lao Lianben collection of Dr. Leovino Ma. Garcia in a one-of-a-kind exhibition, Passion and Compassion: The Lao Lianben Collection of Dr. Leovino Ma. Garcia, at Leon Gallery International starting March 19, 2024.

Curated by Doctor Garcia himself, the exhibition presents more than 20 masterpieces by the revered Zen master—his art of sublime serenity—whose works the professor and noted academic started collecting in 1991. The largest work in the exhibition, Monk’s Table (2014), presents an intriguing image of a purifying altar for enlightenment and spiritual rebirth akin to a Buddhist monk in monastic silence.

Another monumental masterpiece, Water Dance 3 (1985), evokes the soothing simplicity of water, a time-honored element in Zen not just for its purifying essence but more so for its tranquilizing clarity, which is like a metaphysical portal into an abode where one can go into dynamic contemplation and transformative introspection.

‘Voices,’ 1998, acrylic, modeling paste, 122 cm x 214 cm

‘Homage to Joya,’ 1981, acrylic, collage on canvas, 183 cm x 91.5 cm

In Voices, Lao brings the viewer into a lulling silence in the path of a soothing energy—the very spirit of Zen. Homage to Joya(1981) shows Lao’s profound reverence for the pioneer of Filipino abstract expressionism and a pillar of Philippine abstract art.

‘Tryst 83,’ 1975, signed and dated (middle left), oil on wood, 122 cm x 138 cm

‘Ancient # 6,’ 1974, signed and dated (lower right), mixed media, 61 cm x 61 cm

An early work from 1975 titled Tryst 83, which Lao made just two years after he graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of the East and a year before he was conferred the prestigious CCP Thirteen Artists Award, sees the budding Zen master going into the evocative metaphysical. Another early work, Ancient (1974), seems to mirror the prehistoric cave paintings of Altamira in Spain and Lascaux in France.

The exhibition catalog writes: “For the French contemporary philosopher, Jean-Louis Chrétien, it is ‘not with one’s eyes but rather with one’s whole being’ that one looks at a painting. In looking, it is necessary ‘to draw near, to back away, to draw near and to back away again, and to be quiet and to stay still.’ There is silence in painting. There is a silence of art. Art has to be listened to. And Lao’s art has to be listened to if one is to hear its silence.

“In Lao’s paintings, discreet silence turns eloquent. His paintings speak to you, but only after you approach them in silence. It would help then if you stole into the exhibition room at an odd hour of the day.”

“To truly appreciate Lao’s silence then, one has to be blessed with the patience to pay attention for a long time and the perseverance to listen for even a longer time. Only then, perhaps, can one finally hear the paintings (as in Rilke’s Archaic Torso of Apollo) imploring you: ‘You must change your life!'”

ABOUT THE COLLECTOR

Doctor Garcia obtained his Ph.D. in Philosophy with the distinction of magna cum laude from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium in 1981. He became the first lay dean of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Arts and Sciences, serving from 1988 to 1994. Doctor Garcia was also the first dean of the Ateneo’s Loyola School of Humanities, holding the post from 2000 to 2007.

Doctor Garcia was honored with the ranks of Chevalier, Ordre des Palmes Académiques (1989) and Officier, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2008) by the French Government for his devotion to upholding harmonious Filipino-French cultural relations. The Belgian Government bestowed him the rank of Commander, Order of Leopold II (2012) for his unwavering services in promoting Filipino-Belgian cultural exchanges.

Doctor Garcia specializes in Contemporary French Philosophy, specifically the philosophies of Paul Ricoeur and Emmanuel Levinas.

For his zealousness in the name of the arts and humanities, Doctor Garcia was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Humanities by the Ateneo in 2007. Today, he teaches philosophy at the Ateneo School of Humanities and the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School.

In this special exhibition, Doctor Garcia  acknowledged Lao Lianben himself and his wife, Lilia Cruz Lao, and their family,  and also  Jaime Ponce de Leon and Leon Gallery, the late art critic, author, and professor Emmanuel Torres, AT Maculangan, and Ronwaldo Eon Carreon.

Passion and Compassion: The Lao Lianben Collection of Dr. Leovino Ma. Garcia will run until April 3, 2024, at Leon Gallery International, G/F Corinthian Plaza, 121 Paseo de Roxas, Legazpi Village, Makati City. For inquiries, contact (+632) 8856-2781 or email info@leon-gallery.com.