JOSE TANIG JOYA (b. Manila, June 3, 1931 d. 1996)
Jose Joya
National
artist Jose Joya was a pioneer modern and abstract artist who was active
as a painter, printmaker, mixed-media artist and ceramicist. It has
been said that it was Joya who "spearheaded the
birth, growth and flowering of abstract expressionism" in the
Philippines. His mature abstract works have been said to be
"characterized by calligraphic gestures and linear forces, and a sense
of color vibrancy emanating from an Oriental sensibility." Joya's sense
of color has been said to have come from the hues of the Philippine
landscape, and his use of rice paper in collages demonstrated an
interest in transparency.
Jose
Tanig Joya was born on June 3, 1931, the son of Jose Joya Sr. and
Asuncion Tanig. He began sketching at the age of eleven. At a young age,
he became interested in studying architecture, but found that he did
not have the aptitude for the math and science that architecture would
require. While attending the University of the Philippines he was
introduced to the paintings of Fernando Amorsolo, and began his study of
painting. He was initially schooled in the traditional tradition -- in
which the standards had been set by Amorsolo and Tolentino -- but
gradually was influenced by American abstraction and by the emerging
trends in Philippine modernism. He was mentored by Guillermo Tolentino,
Ireneo Miranda, Domindaor Castaneda and Virginia Agbayani.
Joya
graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1953 with a
Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art, earning the distinction of being the
university's first Magna cum Laude. In 1954 the Instituto de Cultura
Hispanica of the Spanish government awarded him a one year grant to
study painting in Madrid. Travel/study scholarships to Madrid -- which
came about through the influence of PAG member Fernando Zobel de Ayala
-- were also given to other PAG artists including Arturo Luz, Nena
Saguil and Larry Tronco. After returning from Spain, Joya finished his
Master's Degree in Painting in 1956 at the Cranbrook School of Art in
Michigan, with the assistance of a Fulbright Smith-Mundt grant.
Above: The opening of a Jose Joya exhibit, featuring religious paintings, at the Philippine Art Gallery
Jose Joya (indicated in white) is 4th from the left.
His early
works were representational paintings that showed the influence of
Vincente Manansala and Anita Magsaysay-Ho. During the late 1950's, as he
became involved in the Philippine Art Gallery -- founded in 1950 by a
group of women writers led by Lyn Arguilla -- he became one of the "new
wave" of artists who developed abstract paintings. His first one make
show appeared at the Philippine Art Gallery in 1954, and in March of
1958 he won first prize for his non-objective "Painting" in the 11th
Annual PAG Art Exhibition, held at the Northern Motors Showroom. He won
more prizes in 1959 (Second place for "Space Transfiguration), 1960
(Third place for "Horse of Life) and 1962 (Third place for "Cathedral).
Jose Joya, "Untitled," 1960, approx. 16 x 24 inches, oil on canvas
Joya was
often present a the "Saturday Group" which met for weekly art
discussions at the Taxa de Oro Restaurant in Manila. In 1962, when Joya
was serving as the President of the Art Association of the Philippines,
he and Napolean Abueva represented the Philippines in the prestigious
Venice Biennale: it was the first time that the Philippines had
participated. He displayed a 1958 horizontal abstraction titled
"Granadian Arabesque," a painting which features powerful swipes of
impasto mixed with sand, and which is now in the collection of the
Ateneo Art Gallery. Joya later wrote about
participating in the Biennale, and reported on the novelty, desire to
shock and "dazzle" of the work on view.
Side view of the impasto of Joya's "Granadian Arabesque"
In
the late 60s received grants from the John D. Rockefeller III Fund and
the Ford Foundation, which allowed him to paint and study at the Pratt
Institute in New York between 1967 and 1969. Among the positions he held
were:
- President of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) 1962-65
- Dean of the UP College of Fine Arts 1970-78, where he modernized curriculum and established scholarships.
- Chairperson of Philippine Delegations to China, 1961 and 1972
In the
1970s Joya executed two large murals, "Lanterns of Enlightenment" and
"Mariveles" which display vivid interplays of shape and tone. When
traveling overseas he often made rapid, on the spot sketches in pencil,
charcoal or pastel.
Joya was
also a holder of the Amorsolo Professorial Chair in UP in 1985. He
served as chairperson of the National Committee on Visual Arts, of the
National Commission on Culture and the Arts from 1987 until his death.
In 1981 a
retrospective of some 200 of Joya's works was held at the Museum of
Philippine Art. In1987 the French government awarded him membership in
the "Order of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres."
Jose Joya, "Makiling Interlude," 1984, Acrylic and Collage on Paper, approx. 22 x 15 inches
“In
creating an art work,” Joya once stated “the artist is concretizing his
need for communication. He has an irresistible urge to reach that level
of spiritual satisfaction and to project what he is and what he thinks
through his work.”
Joya died in May of 1995 at the age of 63 after complications from a prostate operation.
In 2003,
eight years after his death, he was conferred the title of National
Artist for his pioneering efforts in developing Filipino abstract art. A
retrospective of his work was held in August of 2011 at the National
Museum.