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Lot description
Sarimanok signed and dated 1975 (lower left) acrylic on canvas 26 1/2" x 34 1/2" (67 cm x 88 cm) PROVENANCE Private collection, Manila Known for using the Sarimanok motif in his artworks to popularize traditional motifs in the Filipino national consciousness, National Artist Abdulmari Imao’s Sarimanok provides another colorful interpretation of the legendary bird of the Maranao people, reflecting many defining qualities that synthesize indigenous Maranao motifs with modernist abstraction. Signed around 1975, Imao beautifully depicts the mythical bird with a fish on its beak, symbolizing sustenance, power, and good fortune. The wings, which also spread on both sides of the canvas, give the creature a sense of elegance and motion—a fitting image, considering Sarimanok is mostly used as Maranao royal imagery, associating it with status, prestige, and auspicious power. By placing the legendary bird in modern painting, Imao successfully elevated a regional cultural emblem into a natural artistic symbol, highlighting his greater contribution to Filipino modern art. (Mark John Castañeda)