Tapestries

It was while in Manila that Alcuaz thought about making tapestries. During his stay in Europe, he had heard of the outstanding craftsmanship of the Czechoslovakian artists as far as the making of tapestries were concerned. In early 1968, he traveled to the historic city of Brno, located outside Prague. There he found a tapestry factory that he liked working with, and to which he returned every year until 1980 to have his tapestries made. At the factory, Alcuaz mingled closely with the workers, taking walks with them or eating in their company.

In 1969, Ute returned to Germany for the education of their three children. The arrangement allowed Alcuaz more time to work on his art, affording greater flexibility in terms of taking up residences both in the Philippines and in Europe. He moved to a corner suite at The Manila Hilton located at the United Nations Avenue in the heart of downtown Manila. Serendipitously, his room overlooked his first studio at the Ateneo de Manila that had been allocated him by the Jesuit priest Father Thomas Canon in the 1950s.

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8 o Clock Reflection

151 x 109 in | Tapestry

The hotel was walking distance to the historic Manila Bay as well as the Rizal park and Intramuros, places Alcuaz enjoyed visiting during his regular walks in the city. The hotel has now been renovated and renamed The Manila Pavilion, but if there have been many changes in its interiors, ownership, and management, one thing is a constant, that is the fact that for 42 years, it was the home of National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz in Manila. Otherwise, he would be in New York, Spain, Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Netherlands, or wherever his artist’s wanderlust and search for discovery took him.

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Undulating Hills. Moments and Memories

87 x 56 in | Tapestry