Pacita Abad
(Filipino, 1946–2004)
Biography
Pacita Abad was a celebrated Filipino artist. Characterized by her rhythmic repetitions of form, pattern, and color, Abad's work shifts between abstraction and representation while consistently employing the rich reds, purples, and yellows of Islamic Filipino textiles and culture. Notable for developing the technique of trapunto painting, a re-interpretation of Italian quilting techniques, Abad began stuffing her later canvases with culturally charged items such as shells, textiles, and mirrors, and also began affixing them to the surface of her amalgamate works. Born on October 5, 1946 in Batanes, the Phillipines, she traveled extensively and went on to live on six out of the seven continents. She notably studied painting at several American institutions, including The Art Students League in New York and the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. Towards the end of her extremely prolific career—having produced some 5,000 works—Abad began creating large-scale installation. This culminated in her work on the Alkaff Bridge in Singapore, which she covered with thousands of circular patterned shapes in her characteristic hues. Before her death on Batan Island in the Phillipines on December 7, 2004, the artist achieved widespread acclaim, breaking an institutional gender barrier as the recipient of the TOYM Award for Art in the Philippines in 1984.
Pacita Abad
(129 results)
.jpg "Yellow Spider (Flame), 1990")
English (US)
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