NATIONAL

ARTISTS OF
THE
PHILIPPINES
FOR
SCULPTURE
 BY. KYLE REMIER B.
LACAMENTO 12 STEM 3 QUANTUM
CONTEMPORARY ARTS

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (July 24, 1890 – July 12, 1976)

was a Filipino sculptor and professor of the University of the Philippines. He was
designated as a National Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture in 1973, three years
before his death. Tolentino was born on July 24, 1890 in Malolos, Bulacan. He was
the fourth child in his family and had seven siblings. The young Tolentino showed
an early talent in sculpting, having been able to mold figures of horses and dogs out
of clay. Tolentino started studying in Malolos Intermediate School and continued
his high school years in the same city. After studying in Malolos, Tolentino went to
Manila and attended classes in the School of Fine Arts of the University of the
Philippines. Tolentino graduated in 1915 with a degree in Fine Arts. His notable
works are the Bonifacio Monument and the UP Oblation. Tolentino, upon returning
from Europe in 1925, was appointed as a professor at the University of the
Philippines' School of Fine Arts and opened his studio in Manila on January 24.
Along with thirteen artists, Tolentino joined a contest in 1930 to design the
Bonifacio Monument. Instead of basing the statues on printed materials, he
interviewed people who participated in the Philippine Revolution. Bonifacio's
figure was based on the bone structure of Espiridiona Bonifacio, the Supremo's
surviving sister. Down to seven entries, the committee had its winners by July 29.
Tolentino's entry won first place and was given a cash prize of 3,000 pesos.
In 1935, Rafael Palma, president of the University of the Philippines, commissioned
Tolentino to sculpt the Oblation, a statue based on the second stanza of Jose Rizal's
Mi ultimo adios. Tolentino used concrete to create the statue but it was painted to
look like bronze. The statue's model was Anastacio Caedo, his assistant, whose
physique was combined with the proportion of Virgilio Raymundo, his brother-in-
law.
The University of the Philippines Alumni Association requested Tolentino on
October 25, 1935 to construct an arch commemorating the inauguration of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines but it was never built, because of the war.
In the absence of Fernando Amorsolo, Tolentino was appointed acting director of
the School of Fine Arts and eventually became its director two years later, on
August 4, 1953.
Besides monuments, Tolentino made smaller sculptures, which are now located in
the National Museum of Fine Arts and busts of heroes at the Malacañang Palace.
He also designed the medals of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the seal of the
Republic of the Philippines.

Napoleon "Billy" Veloso Abueva (January 26, 1930 –

February 16, 2018) was known as the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture"
Through Proclamation No. 1539, He was proclaimed National Artist for Sculpture
in 1976 when he was 46, making him the youngest recipient of the award to date.
Billy Abueva, as he was fondly called, was born in Tagbilaran, Bohol, to Teodoro
Lloren Abueva, a Bohol congressman and Purificacion Gonzalez Veloso, president
of the Women's Auxiliary Service. Abueva had six other brothers and sisters:
Teodoro Jr., Purificacion, José, Amelia Martinez, Teresita Floro, and Antonio. Born
Esabelio Veloso Abueva, he was named after the younger sister of his paternal
grandmother, Isabel.
He assumed the name Napoleon at the age of six, when as a student at the St.
Joseph Academy in Tagbilaran, one of the nuns first called him Napoleon after
Napoleon Bonaparte. The name stuck, and ever since, Abueva referenced the quote
from Napoleon: "If I weren't a conqueror, I would wish to be a sculptor.”
Abueva graduated in high school at the Rafael Palma College (now the University
of Bohol) in 1949. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture at the UP
School of Fine Arts (now UP College of Fine Arts/UPCFA) in 1953 as one of the
second batch of Fine Arts students who moved from the old campus in Padre Faura
to Diliman. He was mentored by fellow National Artist for Sculpture Guillermo
Tolentino.
Through scholarship grants, he was able to pursue advanced studies abroad
including one from Harvard University.
Recognized as the “Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture”, Abueva helped shape
the local sculpture scene to what it is now. He used almost all kinds of materials for
his sculptures such as hard wood, adobe, metal, stainless steel, cement, marble,
bronze, iron, alabaster, coral and brass. He was the first Filipino artist to mount a
one-man exhibit at the Philippine Center in New York in 1980.
Some of his major works include Kaganapan (1953), Kiss of Judas (1955), Thirty
Pieces of Silver, The Transfiguration (1979), Eternal Garden Memorial Park, UP
Gateway (1967), Nine Muses (1994), UP Faculty Center, Sunburst (1994)-
Peninsula Manila Hotel, the bronze figure of Teodoro M. Kalaw in front of National
Library, and murals in marble at the National Heroes Shrine, Mt. Samat, Bataan.
His Sandugo or Blood Compact shrine in Bohol, Tagbilaran City is a landmark at
the site of the first international treaty of friendship between Spaniards and
Filipinos.
Abdulmari Asia Imao was a Filipino painter and sculptor. Imao
was named National Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture in 2006. A Tausūg,
Imao is the first Moro to receive the recognition. Aside from being a sculptor, Imao
is also a painter, photographer, ceramist, cultural researcher, documentary film
maker, writer, and a patron of Philippine Muslim art and culture. Abdulmari Imao
wrote to then President Ramon Magsaysay to seek a study grant. Jose Maria
Ansaldo, aide to the President, helped Imao enter college at the University of the
Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Imao entered as a pensionado of the
Commission on National Integration. Among his mentors at the university were
Guillermo Tolentino and Napoleon Abueva, who preceded him as National Artists.
Imao graduated from the university with the degree Bachelor of Fine Arts in
Sculpture.
In 1960, Abdulmari Imao entered the University of Kansas in the United States as a
Smith Mundt and Fulbright Scholar. Imao was able to qualify for the top 20 slots of
the scholarship. In 1962, Imao earned his Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture, major
in Metal Brass Casting. From 1962–1963 at the Rhode Island School of Design,
Imao honed his craft as a scholar taking Creative Sculptor in Ceramic Technology.
Imao also entered the Columbia University in New York City under the Columbia
Faculty Scholarship in the tuition of Dr. Lloyd Burden, who developed the first
color processing for Kodak. Imao studied documentary motion picture and
photography at the university.
In 1963, Imao received the New York Museum of Modern Art Grant to Europe and
Scandinavia becoming the first Asian recipient of the grant.
On 9 June 2006, Imao was named with the National Artist of the Philippines for
Sculpture. Imao was also recognized as a brass-making consultant of the United
Nations.
Abdulmari Imao is known for using the okir, sarimanok and the naga as motifs in
his artworks and is credited for popularizing the motifs to the Filipino national
consciousness. Imao draws inspiration from Tausūg and Maranao art. Imao's
Islamic faith is also a source of inspiration in his art as evidenced in his sculptures
composed of elements of Allah's name through Arabic calligraphy.
Frederico Aguilar Alcuaz (June 6, 1932 – February 2, 2011) was
a Filipino painter who exhibited extensively Internationally and whose work earned
him recognition both in the Philippines and abroad.
Alcuaz was conferred the title of National Artist for Visual Arts, Painting, Sculpture
and Mixed Media in 2009. However, four nominees for the award other than Alcuaz
became embroiled in the 2009 National Artist of the Philippines Controversy,
which led the Supreme Court of the Philippines to temporarily issue a status quo
order on August 25, 2009, blocking the conferment of the awards on all seven
nominees - despite the fact that no objections were ever raised regarding the
conferment of the award to Alcuaz and two other nominees.
Federico Aguilar Alcuaz was born on June 6, 1932 in Santa Cruz, Manila. He was
the 6th of 11 Children of Mariano Aguilar a Lawyer and a Musician and Encarnneo
de Manila]] and finished his degree in 1955. In 1949–1950 he took up painting
subjects at the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Fine Arts. In 1955 he
went to [[rats. In the same year he began signing his paintings with Aguilar Alcuaz
to distinguish himself from two other Aguilars who are also members of the La
Punalada Group. In 1959, he met Ute Schmitz, whom he married 3 years later and
they had 3 sons.
He died on February 2, 2011, in Manila, Philippines due to natural causes.
Federico Aguilar y Alcuaz, who signed his works as Aguilar Alcuaz was an artist of
voluminous output. He is known mainly for his gestural paintings in acrylic and oil,
as well as sketches in ink, watercolor and pencil. He was also a sculptor of note and
has rendered abstract and figurative works in ceramics, tapestries and even in relief
sculptures made of paper and mixed media, which he simply calls “Alcuazaics.”
The preference to use his maternal name was more for practical reasons; Alcuaz
was rarer than the name Aguilar, and thus ensured better recall; it was also simpler
to drop the customary y between the two names.