Lot description
Oscar Zalameda (1930 - 2010) Abstraction signed (lower left) ca. 1955 oil on canvas 39” x 32” (99 cm x 81 cm) P 1,000,000 Provenance Private Collection, Paris This painting is a prime example of Oscar Zalameda’s early experimentations in the field of abstraction. As an artist, Zalameda is primarily known for his groundbreaking visual figurations of local Filipino life that combines aspects of abstraction, brutalism, and cubism. But, Zalameda’s earlier works encapsulate the artist’s experimental relationship with the medium itself. His works often revolve around pure forms of abstraction through playing with the relationship between angle, shape, and light. Although always tender in observation and mood, Zalameda’s abstract works avoid false sentimentality. His charming and airy gestural abstraction is composed of expertly rendered cubist elements whose color palette and treatment perfectly go together in a rich and vibrant masterpiece. While the subject of the piece is a perfect fit for Zalameda’s style, given that it captures a chaotic reality but at the same time retains a familiar sense of cohesion. The gestural strokes, though too broad to be interpreted as figuratice, provide visual equivalents of natural objects and the feel of weather effects that make an impact on the spectator just as they had been executed with immediacy.
