Max Balatbat (b. 1978)

Lot description

Home signed and dated 2021 (lower right) mixed media 60 1/4" x 95" (153 cm x 241 cm) PROVENANCE Acquired directly from the artist Making a masterpiece that fuses architectural abstraction and urban materiality, Max Balatbat's Home became the quintessential example of his magnificent abstractions, using different materials to reflect the idea of home. Made of grids made of tiles, and layered papers with different designs, cracking paint, dried splattered resin, and woven threads that look like metal grilles for construction, it vaguely resembles a blueprint or schematics of a house, as red threads were woven around the canvas to make a general shape of the house. The repetitive pattern of layered materials contributes to the visual rhythm that represents the language of building—the masterpiece being stripped of its sensuality to represent the idea that homes are pieced together, much like the patchwork realities of Urban Filipino housing. Balatbat represents the resilience and ingenuity of Filipino families who have built their homes from limited or reclaimed materials—reflecting a magnificent abstract that represents resourcefulness amid scarcity. (Mark John Castañeda)