YU, William

William Yu was born in Baculin Baganga, Davao Oriental in 1954. He learned Calligraphy from his father and took up an International Correspondence Course in London in 1981 and apprenticed in the studio of National Artist Cesar Legazpi.

He mounted a three-man show with Alex de los Reyes and Emeritus Jovilla at the town hall of Baganga, the first art exhibit ever to be held in the town. The three artists later formed the Baganga Artists Society. He came to Manila as a full time painter in 1983.

He is known for his “picasoid” figures that, along with Filipino masters like Legaspi and Ang Kiukok, uses a palette knife instead of paintbrush in rendering oil color on canvas.

His current oeuvre, on the other hand, is entirely different from his earlier work. The geometric shape of figures is dissolved deliberately into a rather loose and tangential juxtaposition of forms and colors. His composition is more contingent on the dynamic flow of brushwork with calculated use of palette knife on canvas.

One-Man Shows
1987 – 1st One Man show at Fred Liongoren Art Gallery, with Sen. Leticia Ramos Shahani as guest of honor
1990 – Show at the Hyatt under the sponsorship of Jose Crisologo
1992 – Exhibition at Gallery Ched, with Cesar Legaspi doing the honors
1992 – Show at the Shangri-La Plaza, with Elizabeth Webb and Amparo Araullo as guests of honor
1993 – Exhibit at the Galleria de Carlo, EDSA Plaza hotel
1993 – Show at the Garcia residence in Ayala Alabang
1994 – Exhibition at Victoria Plaza, Davao City for the first time since he left for Manila
1995 – Exhibition at the Art Circle Gallery, Shangri-La Plaza
1999 – Exhibit, Manila Doctor’s Hospital U.N. Ave, Manila
1999 – Show at the Metropolitan Art gallery, SM Megamall
2000 – Show “Hallelism” Shangri-La Plaza
2000 – Exhibition at the Alabang Country Club
2002 – Show in Philamlife Center, U.N. Ave, Manila “Hallelism II”
2005 – Show, Metro Gallery, San Juan, Manila
2006 – Show, The Jewellery, Greenhils Shopping Center, San Juan, Manila
2006 – Exhibition Hyatt Hotel, San Fransisco, CA, USA