Roger San Miguel’s ‘Seasons of Life’ at SM Art Center

MANILA, Philippines - Roger San Miguel — a veteran artist esteemed by National Artists Vicente Manansala,  BenCab, J. Elizalde  Navarro, and Napoleon Abueva, whose portraits he painted —  mounts a solo exhibition titled “Seasons of Life,” organized and presented by Gallerie CMG at the SM Art Center. The show opens on Feb. 2.

An internationally recognized artist whose works now appear in American auction houses, San Miguel was among the first Filipino artists whose works were exhibited in Europe and the United States way back in the Seventies and Eighties. Foreign dealers came to the country purposely to seek him out in his A. Mabini studio, where he created his versions of the classic Philippine themes of mother-and-child, landscapes of Philippine countrysides  and still lifes of native fruits and vegetables, skillfully rendered in his trademark palette-knife strokes. More significantly, it was Roger San Miguel who was commissioned to recreate the large-scale painting “Sayaw” by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, when it was stolen from the Metropolitan Theater.

Now a septuagenarian, fortunately blessed with good health, the prolific San Miguel  continues to paint, his technical virtuosity and artistic vision undimmed by passing time. In the catalog essay to the exhibition, art critic Cid Reyes writes: “Already, while scanning the works, one glimpses a streaming narrative in the landscapes of gardens and fields, where nature discloses images of pregnancy and birth. Think of it as a season of conception, here culminating in the classic mother-and-child theme, which one can regard, too, as a season of love. In a work that brings the presence of the father, one admires the immutable Filipino theme of “Mag-anak,” auguring a season of family unity and harmony. 

“For San Miguel, these are the timeless subjects of the Filipino artist. He renders them all in a fulsome fusion of Impressionism and Realism, where the brush strokes are daubed in flecks and layers, revealing the richness of underpainting, which in turn the viewer mixes optically. It is an approach to painting that allows the artist the freedom to create a sense of reality, not curtailed by a predetermined and inflexible composition, while at the same time delighting the audience, with the artist taking us on an exhilarating course of painting. Interestingly, San Miguel conflates the various genres of portraiture, landscape and still life painting.”

The show is on view until Feb. 13.

SM Art Center is at the 4/F, SM Megamall A, Mandauyong City. For inquiries, call 871-9765 or 0917-8293961.