Affordable H.R. Ocampo sketches & Kiukok prints at LeonExchange
A member of the Amorsolo school, Elias Laxa has consistently done well in the online auction. The starting bid for this seascape is P18,000.
Much of our day-to-day transactions now transpire in the virtual space of the internet. Aside from banking, booking a hotel room, and downloading our favorite music, the digital way of life has now extended to the bidding and purchasing of art. Pioneering this platform is Leon Gallery which, through its LeonExchange, now offers fine furniture and artworks to a broader segment of the market.
Now in its fourth iteration, LeonExchange (leonexchange.com), whose portal will open on July 29, 11 a.m., for bidding, provides value-for-money options to budget-conscious art enthusiasts, or simply those who are looking for a good find. A few works by National Artists even begin with a starting bid of P5,000. It’s highly likely that someone may outbid you for such a piece, but such is the thrill of the online auction: you never know. An H.R. Ocampo sketch or an Ang Kiukok print can be yours for a few thousand pesos. Rarely do the works breach the seven-figure mark, which is quite routine at Leon Gallery’s quarterly auctions.
“We can only accommodate so much works in our quarterly auctions,” says Jaime Ponce de Leon, director of Leon Gallery. “With LeonExchange, we provide a wider space for our consignors to have their pieces reach their intended audience and at same time broaden the level playing field not only for them, but also for our bidders. Those who may feel intimated with the formal rituals of an auction house can now bid in the quiet of their homes.”
Those who want to see the works prior to online bidding may drop by Leon Gallery at the ground floor of Eurovilla I, Rufino cor. Legazpi Sts. in Makati City. The ability to preview the works beforehand removes the anxiety of thinking how these works look in reality, as opposed to simply relying on their digital counterparts on screen.
Some of the highlights of LeonExhcange include the exquisite furniture pieces from the Badillo ancestral house in Singalong, Manila, where the first investment property of Ayala Land in the 1920s was located. Inherited by Nemesia and Teodora from their parents Jose and Rafaela after World War II, the house, according to Raphaela Ledda-Howell, daughter of Teodora and Jaime Ledda, “has received so many visitors and held so many events, with innumerable parties and soirees over the years…Our generation has, however, decided and agreed that it was time to say goodbye to the material belongings. We hope that those who end up acquiring them will have fond memories just as we had and that they would care for, treasure them and pass them down to many generations to come.”
Some furniture pieces on offer are a buffet table with drawers, chaise lounge, dining table with chairs, a round table with six chairs, a Carlos XIII sofa with center table and two chairs, an Art Deco dresser and cabinet with monogram, and a bed, among others—all from the early 20th century and made of narra. Speaking of hardwood, Arturo Luz’s sculptural piece from the early ’70s, which is made of balayong, is also part of the 414-strong lots.
Aside from the works of the National Artists, the Neo-Realists, and the contemporary artists, what have been consistently doing well are works by members of the so-called Amorsolo school with their classical renditions of seascapes, genre scenes and still lifes. In this day and age, anybody, just by clicking and scrolling, can find a work that speaks to them.
