The show runs until March 9, 2025, at Pinto Art Museum, Grand Heights Subdivision, 1 Sierra Madre St, Antipolo, 1870 Rizal.
In his solo exhibition titled Kundiman, visual artist Antonio Leaño breathes life into forgotten photographs, transposing 19th- to early 20th-century snapshots into vivid testaments of Philippine history and identity. With every brushstroke, he bridges the past and the present, crafting a visual narrative that is as raw as it is poetic.
The paintings, bathed in golden warmth and harsh sunlight, capture the grit and grace of everyday life. Women vendors trek to the market, their bilao and dreams upon their shoulders. Farmers wear the lines of labor etched deeply into their faces. Beneath their fatigue, a quiet joy lingers—a testament to resilience. Stark contrasts of light and shadow dance across the canvases, mimicking the unyielding heat of the tropical sun and the equally unyielding spirit of the people.
Rough textures and gestural pencil marks ripple throughout the canvases, their rawness reflecting the imperfection of memory. Scribbled writings, remnants of thought and history, evoke the epistolary nature of early photography, when images traveled as letters, carrying sentiments and stories across seas and time. Stamps—carefully selected for their imagery, symbolism, and color—accentuate the works, offering a tactile connection to the past while grounding each scene in a larger framework of history. Vintage cigarette wrappers, which were historically used to aid the revolution, and bearing nationalist slogans, further punctuate the revolutionary fervor of the era.
Leaño reimagines these photographs, with faces subtly altered, compositions adjusted, and meanings reshaped, creating a dialogue between reality and imagination. These reinterpretations highlight the tension between colonial subjugation and the longing for independence, a theme woven into the visual fabric of the works.
At the heart of the exhibition lies a tribute to national legacies. Dr. José Rizal, who wielded the pen to stir national pride, love, and sense of duty throughout the country, and the Katipuneros, warriors of the Philippine Revolution, who were, just like everyone else, fathers, brothers, and sons, and yet still fought valiantly for our independence. They are unveiled alongside countless other remarkable ilustrados and humble indios, their stories interwoven into a shared tapestry.
Women are equally celebrated as silent revolutionaries—such as in the image of Melchora Aquino, known as Tandang Sora—whose support, caregiving, and healing were instrumental in the country’s fight for freedom. The kundiman, love songs once whispered in defiance of oppression, echo in the warm tones and delicate balance of the paintings. Each piece becomes a love letter to the Philippines and all of its people, the great heroes as well as the silent heroes of the commonfolk-and their bravery, resilience, and enduring hope.
Kundiman isn’t a mere celebration of artistry; it’s a conversation with history. Through this exhibition, Leaño invites us to reflect on the legacies that shape us, to see beauty in the struggle, and to honor the unyielding spirit of the people who refuse to be forgotten.
Multi-awarded Antonio “Tony” Catral Leaño, recipient of the prestigious Thirteen Artists Award (TAA) from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), is a visual artist whose oeuvre spans painting, multimedia art and installation art, landscape, environment/architectural design, and construction. He designed the Pinto Art Museum, founded by leading art patron and mover Dr. Joven Cuanang. Leaño has had many solo exhibitions and has also represented the country in international conferences and biennials in Perth, Canberra, Yogyakarta, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Biwako, and has been featured in national exhibits such as Art Fair and international exhibits in Tokyo and New York. His artworks are at the Singapore Art Museum, Osaka Art Museum, Fukuoka Art Museum, the Pinto Art Museum collections, and ArtSector Gallery.
The show runs until March 9, 2025, at Pinto Art Museum, Grand Heights Subdivision, 1 Sierra Madre St, Antipolo, 1870 Rizal. For more information, contact Monica at tel. no. (0916) 374-6347 or Jerine at tel. no. (0954) 420-6119.
