Fernando Zóbel

(1924-1984)

ORILLA 57

Footnotes

Provenance
Private collection, Spain

費南度·索維爾
岸57
1981年作

簽名： F. Zóbel（右下）81-83 / ORILLA 57 / 45 x 45 / 藝術家簽名（畫背）
綜合媒體 畫布

來源
西班牙私人收藏

Born to a prominent family in 1924, Fernando Zobel de Ayala was a man of many talents. Highly intellectual, he taught himself to paint and became an outstanding second-generation artist associated with the Filipino modernist movement. Like many artists before him, Zobel started out as a representational painter who derived his subjects from everyday common scenes in Manila. Influenced by the Philippine art images, his search for a modern national identity and keen interest in history and religion propelled him to constantly explore.

In the 1940s, a post-World War II art movement known as abstract expressionism began to dominate the international art scene. Zobel's first encounter with Mark Rothko's exhibition left a strong impression which inspired him to abandon his figurative paintings for abstraction. By the mid-50s, Zobel's early experimentation with radical colours and lines elevated his new style to greater heights. The characteristic curvilinear forms and exuberant colours were often placed in close proximity to vibrant black lines evidence in his Jardin Series. His early abstract paintings exude dramatic flair and imagination. As his works progressed, Zobel continued to employ unconventional media and colours. His primary motivation, driven by his intellectual pursuit was to improvise the relationships between colours, or their relations to lines and textures. This spontaneous expression brought about the evolution of Zobel's works for the next three decades of his artistic career.

In his later years, nature became a central focus of Zobel's works. During his travel back to Spain, he was deeply moved by the beauty of Cuenca, and was particularly drawn by the waters which reflected the state of his emotion as well as his intellectual and personal memories of the region. Through these experiences, a series of abstract landscape paintings famously known as the El Jucar, La Vista and finally the Las Orillas (1979 – 1982) were created.

Orilla 57, painted in Cuenca in 1981 was based on a scene recorded by the artist. Graceful and sophisticated, the painting radiates Zobel's emotional energy. The intentional juxtaposition of green and light colour placed asymmetrically conjures up an image of Jucar River which flows past the shore of a 14th century castle at the border of Cuenca province. From the foreground, the soothing light olive green colour gently permeates the canvas, creating patches of light beige colour branching out indicating the beginning of a shoreline. Moving South, the colour which gradually turns darker suggests the flowing movement of water, symbolising a journey of life. The horizontal blue strip at the top represents the blue horizon beyond the rocky mountain afar. All throughout the painting, controlled black lines, along with sketches accentuate what appears to be lush vegetations, rocks, hills and other surrounding natural elements. Deliberate strokes give a sense of purpose that everything belongs in its natural place. A stark contrast from Saetas' intense expression or the adventure of Negra Series of his youth, Orilla 57's meditative quality displays a quiet contemplation that reveals Zobel's innate yearning to acknowledge his relationship with nature. The subtle confidence that emanates from Orilla 57 makes it a quintessential example of Zobel's abstract career which has come to a full circle.