ANTONIO, Angelito

Angelito Antonio, born 1939, was raised into a farmer’s family from Malolos, Bulacan. Initially, he took up Architecture at the Mapua Institute of Technology which he then continued at the University of Santo Tomas. Eventually, he shifted from Architecture to Fine Arts, and later on, taught the latter from 1963-1979. He is best known for his Nascent-Cubism style with emphasis on strong and confident diagonal lines combined with a unique approach to figurative distortions and the use of the color black juxtaposed with strong brilliant primary or muted tertiary colors. He is regarded as both modernist and expressionist in his approach, successfully crafting an aesthetic disposition that has allowed him to maintain his practice for over 50 years; exhibiting both here and abroad. His subjects largely figure folk in genre; showcasing cock-fighting aficionados, vendors, ice cream peddlers, fishermen, and native folk to illustrate a genuine representation of Filipino customs and way of life. Considered as one of the most influential artists of the country’s Modern Art movement, he is well regarded as a trailblazer of action painting and the proliferation of the Cubist style in Philippine art.