Leon Gallery caps another prosperous year with the abstract, non-figurative works of leading Filipino abstractionists, all from the august collection of Michael Zinman, to go on the block in the much-awaited The Kingly Treasures Auction 2025 on Dec. 6, 2025.
Zinman acquired the works from Luz Gallery, a culture landmark founded by Arturo Luz in 1960. Luz would be National Artist.
Through the years, Leon Gallery has offered diverse collections of paintings, documents, and artifacts from the Philippines’ rich history and cultural heritage. It has connected artists, collectors, and aficionados, to build its reputation as arguably the country’s most trusted auction house.
Half a century ago, as the Philippine Art Gallery, then the stronghold of modernism in the country, slowly reached its twilight years, Arturo Luz, wanting to keep the spirit of Philippine modernism alive, established his own gallery. Founded on Dec. 3, 1960, Luz Gallery carried the PAG legacy and became the seat of Philippine modern art. Beyond business, he opened Luz Gallery to provide a space for the modernists to develop their art and keep apace with global art community.
Lot 85
Rodolfo Samonte (b. 1941) ‘Rectangular No. 17’
The Luz Gallery helped professionalize and institutionalize the art gallery in the Philippines, serving as taste arbiter and setting the agenda in art and art collection. In an interview published in Cid Reyes’ monograph on Luz, the latter said that “galleries have to be dictatorial in matters of taste and quality.” Thus, the gallery imposed a strict standard of quality on artists who wished to exhibit their works. Before an artist could hold an exhibit, one underwent a painstaking evaluation of their ability to incorporate creative influences and produce art that demonstrated their mastery, refinement, and technique.
Foremost Americana collector Michael Zinman was a habitué of Luz Gallery. According to the Library Company of Philadelphia, the oldest library company in the US, Zinman has the most extensive collection of early American imprints—books, pamphlets, and broadsides printed in the colonies and states before 1801.
Lamberto Hechanova Jr. in his studio, 1960s © hechanovanyc.com
In line with his pursuit of archiving essential documents and ephemera related to his country’s history, Zinman visited art galleries and collected various artworks. Among the galleries was the Luz Gallery, where he acquired a sizable collection of Philippine abstract art, several of which are now the highlights of this landmark sale.
Lot 87
Raul Isidro (b. 1943)
‘Cultural Revolution’
Minimalist yet symbolic, Roberto Chabet’s 1965 watercolor work, titled Noah, offers a clear glimpse into his earlier conceptions of his approach to art.
Discovered by Arturo Luz himself, Chinese artist Alan Yongde was a regular exhibitor at Luz Gallery. He was best known for his op art works, a hypnotic blend of trompe l’oeil whimsy and geometric fancy, such as his Black and White ZZ-66.
Also in the trove are two of Rodolfo Samonte’s acclaimed printworks: a serigraph titled Rectangular No. 17 made in 1974, the same year he reached the pinnacle of his career, when he represented the Philippines in the ASEAN traveling art exhibition, the lone printmaker among Filipino painters. The other, Paperwork I, is a cast paper relief from 1977. Both works bear testament to his ingenuity and unwavering dedication to craft.
In Cultural Revolution, Raul Isidro reinterprets the Philippines’ constant search for identity through dynamic, overlapping geometric forms and a warm-toned palette, demonstrating the transformation and renewal of Filipino culture.
Lamberto R. Hechanova Jr.’s Metroscape No. 6 is from his third solo exhibition at Luz Gallery. A blend of acrylic and oil painting, this 1967 piece offers a bird’s eye view of the metro—street and building lights are still on, casting a soft glow on the busy night scape.
Conrado Mercado’s illustrious career yielded a diverse collection of works, from paintings and drawings to relief and freestanding sculptures. He was renowned for his eccentric abstract compositions, in painting and sculpture, such as his White Digits 4, created in 1976.
Rodolfo “Rudy” Samonte
These works were all created between the 1960s and the 1970s and were exhibited at Luz Gallery during that same period. Ranging from conceptual art, op art, printmaking, collage, relief works that wed painting and sculpture, hard-edge painting, and geometric abstraction, these works were among the high-quality masterpieces exhibited at the Luz Gallery.
Lot 89
Lamberto R. Hechanova Jr.
‘Metroscape No. 6
Leon Gallery’s The Kingly Treasures Auction 2025 will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, 2pm. Preview exhibit from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, 2025, 9 am to 7 pm, at G/F Eurovilla 1, Rufino corner Legazpi Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City.
To browse the online catalog, visit https://leon-gallery.com/. For further inquiries, email info@leon-gallery.com or contact 8856 2781. Follow León Gallery on their social media pages for timely updates: Facebook: www.facebook.com/leongallerymakati and Instagram @leongallerymakati.
