PACITA ABAD
MASKS & SPIRITS
Cover: Witch doctor (detail), 1985 (32 x 22 in) Acrylic, mirrors, cowrie shells, glitter on stitched and padded canvas
PACITA ABAD
MASKS & SPIRITS
Primitivsm Tribal Spirit Trapunto Masks Africa Oceania
Indonesia
Philippines Americas Artist Profile
PRIMITIVSM It is well documented by art historians that around the turn of the 19th century a number of famous Western painters were inspired by the nonWestern imagery of African and Oceanic tribal masks and sculptures. In fact, a provocative exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in 1984 titled “Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern� juxtaposed modern paintings and tribal sculptures to highlight their artistic and cross-cultural linkages. Opposite: Waikabubak (detail), 1994 (117 x 115 in) Oil on canvas
The term primitive was the way that white-skinned, Western culture referred to the dark-skinned, colonial tribal cultures, which were generally seen as inferior, naive, exotic and savage. This was in sharp contrast to the refined tastes of the regimented, 19th century bourgeois European society, in which the artists lived, criticized and often tried to escape.
“African masks opened a new horizon to me. They made it possible for me to make contact with instinctive things, with uninhibited feeling that went against the fake tradition which I hated.� George Braque
The wide range of the Cubist, Expressionist, Fauvist and Surrealist artists that had an affinity to tribal objects and designs, were primarily located in France (Picasso, Braque, Vlaminck, Matisse, Gauguin, Modigliani, Giacometti and Brancusi) and Germany (Kirchner, Schmidt-Rottluff, Klee, Nolde, Klimt and Pechstein). This was not accidental, as both France and Germany had extensive colonial networks and many ex-military, administrative and anthropologist nationals brought back native souvenirs as curiosities that ended up in art shops and ethnographic museums. Some artists - notably Gauguin, Nolde, Pechstein, Klee and Matisse - had first hand exposure to tribal art during their travels to the colonies in Oceania and North Africa. Other artists only encountered tribal sculptures in the ethnographic museums in Paris, Berlin, Munich and Dresden, far removed from their natural cultural environment. Though they had little understanding of the original ritualistic functions, the artists were attracted to the non-Western aesthetics of the exotic masks and sculptures that they collected and prominently displayed in their studio/homes.
Henri Matisse’s collection of African art. Source: Evolution of Form: African & Oceanic Art at the Genesis of Modernism, 2016, by Christie’s
Over a 50-year period the “Primitivism” impact on Western art took a number of different forms and influenced painters in a variety of ways. Showing a strong colonial bias, the German artists were mainly inspired by Oceanic artifacts, while those based in Paris were primarily influenced by African masks. Moreover, the concept of Primitivism evolved significantly over time but it still continued to show influences in the work of later Western abstract painters such Gottlieb, Appel, Rothko, Pollock and Dubuffet, as well as artists of color like Wifredo Lam and Lois Mailou Jones. Pacita Abad (1946-2004) was aware of the impact tribal artifacts had on Western artists, as a number of the painters that she tried to emulate during art school - including Nolde, Matisse and Gauguin - all spent time traveling in Africa and Asia. While studying at the Art Students League in New York in the late 1970s she also became acquainted with Allan Stone, who owned an art gallery on the upper east side, but was as passionate about his extensive
tribal art collection. When he learned that Pacita had an appreciation for tribal cultures he would always be interested to chat with her about the subject. Over the years, Pacita would stop by the gallery and he would be delighted to hear about her recent experiences in Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, India, Indonesia and other exotic places. In December 1984 Pacita came back to New York for the Christmas holidays and was anxious to see the Primitivism exhibition at MOMA. She was pleased to see the extensive show, but was quick to note the exclusively Western, caucasian and neo-colonial curatorial perspective. Like the paintings themselves, she felt it was a one way street that still considered Western artists far superior to the unknown native African, Oceanic and native American artists, which they copied and drew inspiration from. It bothered her that the Western paintings were considered “high art”, while non-Western tribal masks and sculptures were looked down upon as simply ethnographic, decorative craft or “low art”.
Emil Nolde’s “Exotic Figures II” and his inspiration from a Peruvian Chancay poncho
Unfortunately, the art world bias against non-Western art would only gradually begin to change in the 21st century. However, this never bothered Pacita or influenced the direction of her artwork. Instead, during her extensive travels and work in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America she was constantly enamored and influenced by tribal cultures and artifacts. Consequently, she saw both herself and her art as a bridge translating between non-Western and Western cultures.
Pacita especially loved the way people from tribal cultures throughout the world would use their creativity to surround themselves with artistic beauty and make art out of mundane local found objects such as beads, shells, buttons, safety pins, ribbons, bones, feathers and a myriad of other items. These “simple” artistic designs and creative decorations would not be put on canvas like in the West, but would often adorn their bodies, dress, jewelry, utensils, armaments, vehicles and even houses. More than once Pacita would say with an amazed smile about some colorful tribal man and woman that, “This is a walking work of art.” Photo by C. Zagourski For Pacita the so-called primitive or indigenous artists that she encountered in places such as India, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia, Guatemala, Haiti, Mali and Congo were much more creative than many well known painters in New York, London or Berlin. She was convinced that one day the Western art world would finally realize that "primitive art" should rightfully move out of the ethnographic museums and into the world’s great art museums.
TRIBAL SPIRIT It is little wonder that Pacita would embrace tribal cultures, as she was born into the Ivatan tribe on the remote island of Batanes, the Philippines. The isolated inhabitants of these three small islands located at the mouth of the South China Sea between Luzon and Taiwan share close cultural links with the nearby Yami Island aborigines of Taiwan. Beata, 1982 (33 x 22 in) Oil on canvas
“One of the earliest accounts of the Ivatan is that of the British buccaneer William Dampier in 1687. Dampier described them as "short, squat people; hazel eyes, small yet bigger than Chinese; low foreheads; thick eyebrows; short low noses; white teeth; black thick hair; and very dark, copper-colored skin."
”Ivatan People” from Wikipedia The Ivatans are one of 175 indigenous tribal groups in the Philippines and scholars maintain that their ancient forebears from the area around Taiwan were the first to travel across the Pacific Ocean and settle as far as New Zealand, Polynesia Hawaii and Easter Island over 5,000 years ago. With this genetic make-up it is not surprising that Pacita would spend her life traveling the globe and painting the world.
Austronesia Map (Out of Taiwan Model). Source: The Ancestors by Sylvia Mayuga
When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, they forced the Ivatans to move to the islands’ lowlands and converted them from their ancestor
worship to Catholicism. The Americans forcibly colonized the Philippines in 1898 and then the Japanese occupied Batanes from 1941 to 1945, after which the Americans returned. Nevertheless, despite all of these foreign invaders, when Pacita was born in 1946 the Ivatans still maintained their native language and much of their tribal heritage and traditional customs. Even when Pacita’s family moved to Manila she still would return to her native Batanes during summer vacations. Going to school in Manila was an entirely different cultural experience with strong Spanish and American colonial overtones. It was there for the first time that Pacita encountered the stigmas of class, social status and racism. Although she tried hard to blend in, her dark skin ensured that she could never become a Spanish mestiza. Years later, Pacita highlighted the biased racial profiling that dark skinned people encounter all over the world with her painting, “Filipina: a racial identity crisis”. This painting depicted the cultural and social gap between the fair skinned, Filipina mestiza and the dark skinned, Philippine tribal woman. Pacita laughingly remarked, “You know which one I am." Filipina: A racial identity crisis, 1991 (43 x 30 in) Lithograph with pulp-painted chine collé and metallic powder
It was only because Pacita was forced to leave the Philippines after leading a political demonstration against the Marcos regime in 1969, did she go to the United States. It was during her four-year stay in San Francisco where she met diverse groups of people from different parts of the world. Because of this she began to evolve and develop into the person and artist she would be for the remainder of her life. However, it was not only her encounters with new ideas, issues and people in America that shaped her. It was more importantly her global travels, first a month in Mexico exploring Aztec and Mayan cultures and the country's rich artistic heritage. Then in 1973 she embarked on a year long overland journey hitchhiking from Istanbul to the Philippines with her husband Jack. As a result of these journeys Pacita began to develop an understanding and deep appreciation of the history, beauty and strength of cultures, religions and heritage of the tribes that she met across Asia, Baloch, Hazara, Pashtun, Ribari, Shan, Akha and Hmong among many others. Along the way Pacita unconsciously adopted her tribal wardrobe with printed scarves from Turkey, turquoise from Iran, an embroidered shawl from Afghanistan, beads, bangles and gypsy skirts from Rajasthan, woven Shan bag from Burma and silver jewelry from the Hill tribes she visited in Thailand and Laos. By the time she reached the Philippines her family and friends were astounded to see her decked out in tribal clothing, and said that she looked like a gypsy. No one dressed like that in Manila in 1974. Ironically, the country’s then-First Lady Imelda Marcos was hosting the Miss Universe Pageant in Manila at that time with more than 60 international beauty contestants. One afternoon while Pacita was shopping, two women approached her and asked if she was Miss Aruba or Miss Liberia. Pacita laughed heartily and said that she was “Mis-taken”, and was actually from the Republic of Batanes. The embarrassed women quickly scurried away. Once back in the Philippines, Pacita decided to seek out the country’s diverse tribal groups that she had heard about but previously never encountered. She first went north and visited the Igorot tribes (Ifugao, Bontoc and Kalinga) residing in the mountainous Cordillera area of Central
Luzon and was pleased to find that their cultural traditions were still strong. In Bontoc she met Eduardo Masferré, who made beautiful documentary photos of the tribal people and traditional ceremonies in the Cordillera region. Years later Pacita would buy a number of tribal sculptures from his collection. She then headed south by bus and boat through the Visayas to Mindanao the home of the largest number of tribal groups in the Philippines. As she traveled around the mainly Muslim region she was delighted to meet Maranao women weavers in Marawi, T’boli T'nalak makers around Lake Sebu in Cotabato, Manobo tribesmen in Davao, and the Yakan and Badjao sea gypsies off Zamboanga. It was an amazing trip and one that filled Pacita with pride for the cultural diversity of the Philippines. Unfortunately, when she returned to Manila she found that few people were interested in her tribal tales, or the hand-woven textiles and beaded jewelry that she wore. Over the next few years as she traveled and painted in the rural areas of Guatemala, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Sudan/South Sudan, Egypt, Dominican Republic and Haiti, she was constantly drawn to their tribal heritage and traditions. Pacita’s travels among native cultures impacted her art and were the inspiration for many of the ideas, techniques and materials that she later incorporated in her paintings.
Her journeys were also tremendous cross-cultural learning experiences that made her acutely aware of the difficult lives that most people lead, especially women. They also heightened her awareness of the severe political, social, economic and environmental challenges she encountered in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Thus, as a socially concerned artist Pacita’s early socio-political paintings were of urban poor, displaced people, political violence, refugees and immigrants in countries where she worked. What’s the matter, can’t you help Women in burkah, 1979 (49 x 35 in) my mother? 1980 (50 x 35 in) Oil on canvas Oil on canvas Opposite: Turkana women, 1979 (49 x 35 in) Oil on canvas
During her travels Pacita also continued her life long romance with tribal art forms, textiles, jewelry, sculpture and masks, which she constantly blended with her paintings and her lifestyle. Not surprisingly, over the years she and Jack amassed a large collection of tribal textiles and artifacts from Asia, Africa and Central America, which Pacita incorporated with her paintings into every room in her studio-homes.
TRAPUNTO MASKS Somewhat surprisingly, Pacita’s tribal mask series began in Boston in the early 1980s, right after she had returned from three months painting in Africa. She was painting with three other woman artists when her initial trapunto painting concept crystallized. The new approach was inspired by Barbara Newman, a doll maker who made life size dolls. This gave Pacita the idea that she could utilize similar techniques in her work to add dimension to her paintings. In a major departure from her early social realism paintings, Pacita then decided to reject her earlier painterly emphasis on surface flatness. Her new technique offered ways to expand the painted canvases beyond traditional boundaries and make her work more sculptural. Pacita called her unique technique “trapunto painting�. Trapunto (Italian word for quilted or embroidered and based on Latin, trans: through + pungere: to prick, pierce) is a quilt with a raised surface, stuffed with cotton defined with running stitches. With the help of the sewing skills that she learned from her mother and sister, Pacita began to explore the unique, innovative painting style which allowed her to fuse the painted canvas surface with hand stitched, three dimensional collages. She began her trapunto process by painting in acrylic or oil on a piece of un-stretched canvas. Next, she sewed the painting onto a canvas backing and then put cotton, polyurethane filling or sheets of fabric between the two. Stitching along the borders and around the designs, she said, "I delineate all the lines in the painting and every stitch is done by hand,
because I don't like the look of machine stitching. Besides, sewing is so therapeutic and meditative.� After Pacita finished sewing, she would decide what objects to add, and was not afraid to experiment with an assortment of locally found materials, such as ribbons, buttons, sequins, shells, mirrors and other objects. After she embellished the canvas, Pacita would paint it some more. The work was finished off with Soluvar varnish, to protect the canvas from dust and help preserve it. Typically, Pacita spent about six weeks making a trapunto, but
she often kept painting and adding embellishments to her trapunto paintings even years later. At first glance, Pacita's vivid trapunto canvases look like oil paintings. However, as the viewer draws closer, her works are, in fact, three dimensional: not only painted, but padded, sewn, and often festooned with sequins, beads, shells, buttons, tiny mirrors, bits of glass, rickrack, swatches of precious textiles, such as Indonesian ikat and batik, which Pacita gathered on her numerous journeys to the far reaches of the globe. Fuschia mask, 1985 (front and back of hand-stitched trapunto painting) 84 x 71 inches
In Pacita's creative hands trapunto became so much more three dimensional and sculptural, as it allowed her to combine the artwork with many different processes and materials including painting, collage, silkscreen, appliquĂŠ, tie-
dye, embroidery and assemblage. As a result, trapunto painting allowed Pacita a spontaneous and innovative opportunity for unlimited artistic experimentation and improvisation, as well as a vehicle for sociopolitical commentary, cultural celebration or abstract exploration. Pacita created her first trapunto painting "African Mephisto" (1981) with her memories of South Sudan still vivid, and soon other African mask trapunto paintings followed. She called her mask series "Masks and Spirits” and over the next few years she kept expanding the series drawing on her new travel experiences. In total, Pacita created over 50 large, vibrantly colored, handstitched and embellished trapunto paintings depicting masks and spirits from Africa, New Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia and the Americas. She later applied a number of her mask designs on paper, canvas, screen prints, prints, ceramics, glass and steel. Unfortunately, Pacita’s tribal art paintings were never exhibited together to show the complete range of her “Mask and Spirits” series, although previously some of these works were in a few exhibitions in Asia, Europe and the US.
“Masks from Six Continents” Public art installation by Pacita Abad at the Washington DC Metro Center, 1990-1992
The one time Pacita combined some of her mask paintings was in 1990 when she won the Regional Metro Art Award. This enabled her to install a huge, six-piece, 50-foot mural, called "Masks from Six Continents" in the main Metro Center subway station in Washington, DC. Pacita designed this mask installation, which hung for three years, to reflect the rapidly growing diversity of both America and the nation’s capital. By celebrating immigrants coming from six continents little did she realize it would become a harbinger for her "Immigrant Experience” trapunto painting series that she would create a few years later. Pacita's trapunto paintings continued to evolve as she incessantly traveled the world, constantly discovering new influences from traditional tribal textiles such as the mola from the San Blas Islands of Panama, drapo vodou banners from Haiti, huipil from Guatemala and Mexico, Kuba and Raffia textiles from Congo, embroidery from Afghanistan, Ralli quilts from Pakistan, kalaga from Burma, kantha from Bangladesh, mirrors from India, shells from the Philippines and the South Pacific, bark cloth from Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia, batik and ikat from Indonesia, and mud cloth from West Africa. The creativity of the tribal cultures never ceased to amaze
her and she was always excited to incorporate these traditional techniques into her trapunto paintings. In a strange way, the thangka from Nepal and Tibet which Pacita first saw in a Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal in 1974 may have had the biggest impact. Although she was immediately attracted to their colors, appliqué, stories and large size, she particularly liked their portability. This gave her the idea that she didn't have to stretch and frame her trapunto paintings, but could just roll them like the thangkas that the Buddhist monks carried to the monasteries. For an itinerant painter, this was a major breakthrough and for years thereafter, Pacita and Jack would be seen walking through airports around the world carrying large rolls of trapunto paintings on their shoulders. Artistically Pacita’s mask trapunto paintings signified a move from her earlier strictly figurative realism towards more mystical abstract figuration. This also marked a major turning point in terms of the size of her paintings, as it allowed her to move away from the easel and onto the floor and wall with her large scale, unframed trapunto paintings. In the early 1980s only a few painters, including Miriam Schapiro, Faith Ringgold, Robert Rauschenberg and Alan Shields in America, were incorporating fabric and stitching in their paintings, and even fewer artists were doing this in Asia. In the West, artwork utilizing fabric and hand stitching was typically categorized under the pejorative terms of “low art”, “craft” or “women's art”. In Asia, such artwork was simply dismissed as craft and was not considered art. Pacita was never concerned about these artificial painting classifications. Her decision to bridge “craft” and “art” was a conscious one, and freely she crossed the artistic boundary from painting to mixed media. Although many people were perplexed by her sudden stylistic shift, she took no issue with the public perception of her artwork. Pacita appreciated the richness of incorporating of traditional textiles and materials, and she was pleased to share her new creations with unfamiliar audiences and the art world at large.
AFRICA Pacita had three stays in Africa that had a significant impact on her appreciation for beauty of the land and traditional cultures that she encountered. These stays coincided with Jack’s development work in Sudan, South Sudan and Kenya, and later assignments in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire and Mali. During her two, four-month stays in war-torn South Sudan in 1979 and 1980 she stayed with Filipino friends living in the small town of Wau. From there she would venture out to paint in the nearby markets and villages. Later she traveled overland to Juba, crossing a number of poverty stricken towns and villages of the strife torn Nilotic country. During her travels Pacita was impressed by the natural beauty of the people, but shocked to see the extreme poverty and subsistence survival existence that they led. Her stay in South Sudan provided a unique opportunity to become familiar with the Dinka, Jur, Azande and later, the Turkana tribes in the country. These resulted in Pacita’s portraits of Jur tribesmen, “Jur Warriors” (1979), Turkana women, “Turkana women” (1979), and Dinka tribesmen, “Dinka Rek” (1978) and “Father and son” (1979). She never realized at the time that these African social realism paintings would pave the way to an entirely new series on masks based on the ones she saw on the Congo border and later in Cote d‘Ivoire and the Dogon villages in Mali.
Tukels in Agok, 1979 (35 x 49 in), Oil on cloth Father and son, 1979 (35 x 49 in), Oil on canvas
Clockwise from top left: Harare, Jur bride, Mosque in Djenne Mali, Kenta girl
Lost in New York, metal sculpture by Pacita Abad Pacita created her first mask trapunto painting, “African Mephisto� (1981), drawing inspiration from a colorful circular design on a woven breadbasket cover that she brought from Omdurman, Sudan. She followed the pattern of this design by sewing strips of painted cloth she had lying in her studio. The
resulting artwork reminded her of a shirt, so she decided to combine this with a painting she had made of a Sudanese tribal face. After she sewed the two pieces together and painted them, she had created her first mask trapunto painting. At first she called the painting “The Dinka” but a few weeks later when she saw the painted white face on the movie poster for Mephisto, based on Klaus Mann’s novel, and decide to change the name of her painting to “African Mephisto”. Pacita was excited with her colorful new mask creation and continued to embellish it using her sewing skills to add strips of textiles, ribbons, rick rack and a piece of Jack’s Kenyan shirt. Unbeknownst to her, this would be the first of her “Masks and Spirits” series. Over the next ten years African masks continued to inspire Pacita, as she created new artworks on screen prints, lithographs, woodcuts, ceramics, glass and her only metal sculpture. Watusi: I’m lost without you, 1991 (39 x 30 in) Woodblock print on paper pulp
African Mephisto, 1981 (106 x 71 in) Acrylic, rick rack ribbons, tie dyed cloth, painted cloth on stitched and padded canvas
Bacongo VII, 1990 (105 x 62 in) Acrylic, cowrie shells, plastic buttons, mirrors, rick rack ribbons, rhinestones stitched on silk screened, padded canvas
African man, 1987 (104 x 52 in) Acrylic, painted cloth, glitter, rick rack ribbons on stitched and padded canvas
Mask with red eyebrows, 1983 (80 x 41 in) Acrylic on stitched and padded canvas
Omdurman, 1982 (87 x 47 in) Acrylic on stitched and padded cloth
People of Wau, 1988 (73 x 35 in) Acrylic on stitched and padded canvas
Kongo, 1990 (104 x 69 in) Acrylic, colored beads, shells, handwoven yarn, padded cloth, painted canvas stitched on cloth
Green African mask, 1983 (104 x 52 in) Acrylic, buttons on stitched and padded canvas
Evil eye, 1983 (100 x 50 in) Acrylic, plastic buttons, rick rack ribbons on stitched and padded canvas
Masai man, 1985 (80 x 56 in) Acrylic, plastic beads, rick rack ribbons, painted cloth on stitched and padded canvas
I could not foresee this thing happening to me, 1990 (35 x 35 in) Oil on canvas
Green mask, 1991 (50 x 35 in) Oil, paper collaged on canvas
Ceramic Masks
Screen print Masks
OCEANIA Pacita's first encounter with Oceania was in 1984, when she went with Jack, who was spending three weeks working with the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the capital of Port Moresby. By happenstance Pacita's godmother from Batanes was living in the coastal city of Lae with her daughter and son-in-law, who was working for the telephone company. So after a few days Pacita headed out of the capital on her own and into the remote highlands to see the country for what would be an eye-opening cultural and artistic experience. With the help of the Filipino community working in scattered PNG towns, she was able to travel on unpaved roads from Lae, Madang, Goroka and up into the mountainous highlands to Mount Hagen. Since public security, and particularly rape, was a major concern in the country, her friends insisted that she be accompanied by a “defenseman” (bodyguard) to protect her. Though she was skeptical of this precaution, numerous times while she was sketching the exotically festooned tribesman in the market, or along the road, Pacita would need his assistance. Despite the difficulties and danger Pacita loved New Guinea with the tribal dress and ceremonies, especially the incredible dancing at a "Sing-sing”. To her the trip was a painter’s dream as the men and women were adorned with colorful body paint, feathers, cowrie shells and much more. Pacita could not stop sketching and taking photos of the marvelous sights.
But all was not beautiful in PNG’s paradise, as when Pacita went to a marketplace outside of Mount Hagen in the Central Highlands, she witnessed a woman being brutally beaten and before she could step in to help, three men blocked her path. Unfortunately, in Papua New Guinea local communities, and even the law turned a blind eye to the so-called right of a husband to beat his wife, and women had no way to report such abuse. The image of the abused and sobbing woman pained Pacita, who immediately began working on the trapunto mask painting entitled “Weeping woman” (1982) when she returned to her studio in Manila. Despite the pervasive atmosphere of violence in PNG, Pacita’s trapunto paintings focused on the cultural beauty of the people, masks and sculptures of the tribal people that she encountered during her travels. She was also fascinated by the way people nonchalantly incorporated kina and cowrie shells, bird of paradise feathers, bark cloth, body paint and countless
other items in to their daily wear. She found it both astounding and beautiful, and made a point to purchase a range of these simple items to incorporate into her paintings and wardrobe. In her Artist Statement Pacita remarked, “I spent two months on the other side of the mountain of Irian Jaya and travelled and painted in Lae, Goroka, Mount Hagan and Madang. During my stay I was overwhelmed by the primitive colors and designs that were used in everyday life. Most of all I was taken by the expressions and strengths of the masks and carvings. The more I painted, the more I became drawn to the strong images decorated on their bodies and applied to their house, boats and shields. This gave me an idea to add cowrie shells, jute, bark cloth, vegetable dyed cloth and other material to my trapunto paintings.” – Wayang, Irian and Sumba, Exhibition Catalogue at the National Museum in Jakarta October 24 – November 16, 1994 As was always the case, Pacita returned from her trip like an itinerant trader with bags full of shells, beads, cloth and carvings to use both in her paintings and spread around her studio-home. At this point in her career she had only created one of her mask trapunto paintings, "African Mephisto”, inspired by an earlier trip to Africa. After visiting PNG she was inspired to do many more mask trapunto paintings and she attacked this project with a passion. Her trapunto painting technique was perfect for this work, although not always easy to complete. In particular, she was insistent on incorporating cowrie shells in her work as she had seen in the New Guinea highlands, but the problem was how she could attach them. Fortunately, her brother-in-law volunteered to laboriously drill a hole in each and every shell so Pacita could then sew hundreds of the shells on her paintings. As a result her trapunto paintings “Weeping woman”, “Goroka man”, “Kaunga”, "Sepik man”, “Papuan”, and "Dancing demon” are very heavy, as they are covered with
cowrie shells. She also developed the artistic practice using non-native items, like tie-dyed cloth and mirrors from India and other countries to adorn some of her New Guinea mask paintings. Pacita’s initial New Guinea mask paintings were done in 1983 to 1985, but over the next ten years she gradually continued to make new mask paintings inspired by adventurous trips up the Sepik River in a dugout canoe, and a visit to the Kamoro region in the Indonesian province of Papua. During these trips she sometimes smiled thinking that she was literally following in the footsteps of one of her favorite painters Emil Nolde, who traveled and painted in New Guinea in 1913, when it was still a German colony. Pacita Abad Art Estate’s tribal art collection
Papuan spirit, 1990 (53 x 41 in) Oil, acrylic on stitched canvas
Dancing demon, 1983 (102 x 72 in) Acrylic, cowrie shells stitched on padded canvas
Sing-Sing in Port Moresby, 1983 (94 x 56 in)
Acrylic, tie-dyed cloth, gold yarn on stitched and padded canvas
Dancing women, 1990 (69 x 56 in) Acrylic, buttons, rick rack ribbons, yarns on stitched and padded canvas
Weeping woman, 1985 (82 x 72 in)
Acrylic, cowrie shells, buttons, glass beads, rick rack ribbons stitched on padded canvas
Melanesia, 1983 (98 x 54 in) Acrylic, cowrie shells stitched on padded canvas
Spirit man, 1991 (70 x 35 in) Acrylic, tie-dyed cloth, mirrors, buttons, burlap, cowrie shells stitched on canvas
Papuan, 1983 (94 x 52 in) Acrylic, cowrie shells, mirrors, Nepali beads stitched on padded canvas
Sepik man, 1983 (98 x 56 in) Acrylic, cowrie shells stitched on padded canvas
Kaunga, 1983 (86 x 67 in) Acrylic, oil, cowrie shells, buttons stitched on padded canvas
Goroka man, 1983 (79 x 68 in) Acrylic, cowrie shells and buttons stitched on padded canvas
Madang couple, 1991 (71 x 33 in) Acrylic, painted paper mache, buttons, cowrie, coconut shells, wooden beads, painted cloth on stitched and padded canvas
Sepik mask, 1989 (58 x 36 in) Oil, dyed muslin, cowrie shells, padded bark collaged on board
Hagen man, 1983 (98 x 52 in) Acrylic, cowrie shells stitched on padded canvas
Shemale dancer, 1994 (70 x 35 in) Acrylic, tie-dyed cloth, buttons on stitched canvas
Komoro festival, 1990 (51 x 35 in) Acrylic, plastic buttons on stitched and padded canvas
The family, 1985 (63x 96 in) Acrylic, buttons, mirrors, painted cloth on stitched and padded canvas
INDONESIA Pacita lived in Indonesia from 1993 to 2000 and like many painters before her, the richness of the country’s culture and the people had a major influence on her personally, and especially on her artwork that blossomed in the tropical sun. However, unlike most foreign artists, she did not focus on the island of Bali, but rather the traditional cultures of both Java and the outer islands. When she arrived in Indonesia Pacita already knew what she wanted to paint because ten years earlier after her first visit she had started a series on the Wayang shadow puppets that she wanted to explore in greater detail. As she said of that first visit: “When I first visited Indonesia in 1983, I spent six weeks in the country. I was wondering what I would paint that would reflect a sense of Indonesian culture and tradition. I did not have to wonder very long, as the third day I was in Jakarta I was invited to a Wayang performance, close to the hotel where I was staying. I was fascinated. I was immediately attracted to the Wayang (Indonesia's traditional drama). I couldn't help but be moved by the elaborate costumes, the theater props and the interpretations of stories from the Ramayana. I liked how the Dalang was so good at telling the story, how he kept the audience very interested and involved all night long and the
way the gamelan added music to the performance. Although I didn't understand the language, the visual impact and the range of emotions shown by each character was enough to keep me captivated.” From “Wayang, Irian and Sumba”, Exhibition Catalogue at the National Museum in Jakarta October 24 – November 16, 1994 Once she had her studio-home set up in Jakarta, Pacita rekindled her love for Indonesia’s wayang kulit (leather puppets) and wayang golek puppets. She started by doing some research at the Wayang Museum and bought books about the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. She also spent time with dalangs (puppet masters) such as Dalang Tizar in Jakarta and Dalang Sukasman in Jogjakarta to learn about the stories and the personalities associated with each of the shadow puppets. Pacita was then ready to start painting her wayangs and she quickly realized that she identified with some characters, and others not as much. Some of her favorites were the Pandawa Lima, the Panakawans, Gareng, Hanuman, Gatot Kaca, Srikandi and Bimasena, but she also painted numerous others. In fact, over her seven-year stay in Indonesia Pacita created more than 150 large and medium-sized wayang paintings. Wayang kulit (Leather puppets)
Foyer of Pacita’s studio house in Singapore
Given the popularity of Pacita’s wayang paintings she was approached by James de Rave of Kedaung Ceramics, who asked if she could create a handpainted Indonesian wayang motif dinnerware set. She eagerly accepted the challenge to embark on a new artistic endeavor. It was a both a joy and a major challenge to work on this 147 piece dinnerware set as Pacita had never worked on a medium that was so drastically different from her canvas. Another challenge was in combining her freewheeling, colorful artistic style with the consistent look required for a ceramic manufacturer. After a few months all these issues were resolved and she completed the entire limited
edition, hand-painted set, which proved to be widely popular. Pacita was particularly happy and she noted in her Wayang Dinnerware book, “…. it was well worth the effort, as now it is very nice to drink my coffee in the morning and see Semar’s face.” Wayang dinnerware set
Bisma, Santanu and Dewi Gangga, 1993 (79 x 116 in) Oil on canvas
Dalang, 1994 (102 x 90 in) Oil on canvas
Wisanggeni, 1983 (94 x 54 in) Acrylic, mirrors, ribbons, painted batik cloth on stitched and padded canvas
Pandawa Lima, 1996 (59 x 89 in) Oil, sequins, batik cloth, buttons on stitched and padded canvas
Portrait of Hanuman, 1997 (39 x 39 in) Oil, beads, buttons, sequins, batik cloth on stitched and padded canvas
Antareja dan Arimbi II, 1995 (47 x 35 in) Oil, painted batik cloth, buttons, sequins on stitched and padded canvas
Gareng, 1994 (50 x 37 in) Oil, batik cloth, beads, buttons, padded canvas on stitched and padded canvas
Subali, 1983 (105 x 71 in) Acrylic, oil, gold cotton, batik cloth, sequins, rick rack ribbons on stitched and padded canvas
Bisma, 1995 (47 x 35 in) Oil, painted cloth, buttons on stitched and padded canvas
Semar, 1994 (16 x 14 in) Oil, batik cloth on stitched and padded canvas
Panakawan, 1995 (59 x 88 in) Oil, sequins, batik, plastic buttons, mirrors on stitched and padded canvas
Pandu Dewanata, 1994 (50 x 35 in) Oil, painted cloth, plastic buttons, sequins, beads on stitched and padded canvas
Angkor Wat, 1998 (102 x 122 in) Oil, rhinestones, beads, mirrors, batik cloth, buttons, sequins stitched on canvas
PHILIPPINES Pacita was born on the northernmost island group in the Philippines, and for the first 23 years lived in Batanes and Manila. However, only after she left the country to study abroad did she become more socially and culturally aware. Consequently, when she returned to the Philippines she saw it with her new traveler and painter eyes. It was then that she truly began to appreciate how rich and varied were the tribal cultural traditions of her native land, especially when she traveled in the mountainous highlands of northern Luzon and the predominantly Moslem tribes in southern Mindanao. Her many trips around the country would pave the way and serve as inspiration for her artistic experiments with textiles, local materials, acrylic and oil paint. She would later approach a blank canvas with the desire to adorn it in fabric like she did with her own body when she wrapped a colorful Zamboanga malong tube skirt around her. Pacita was also intrigued by the large number of Philippine-Hispanic fiestas and festivals, which were held annually throughout cities and towns of the Philippines. She particularly liked the Ati-Atihan festival held every January in honor of Santo NiĂąo in Kalibo, Aklan, and the Moriones festival held during Holy Week on the island of Marinduque. During her time in the Philippines, Pacita was fortunate to attend both of these celebrations, which inspired a number of her mask paintings.
In 1984 when her retrospective exhibition, “A Philippine Painter Looks at the World”, curated by Arturo Luz opened, Pacita included a number of Philippine-inspired mask paintings, including “Pacita Sailing”, which she made into a poster and became her trademark logo. Another source of her artistic inspiration in the Philippines was the country’s passion for dance and this lead to two major paintings, “On reaching 37” and “Dancing couple”.
A very different type of mask painting was meant as a political exorcism of the country’s Dictator/then-President, Ferdinand Marcos. The largest of Pacita’s trapunto mask paintings, “Marcos and his cronies” (1985), was inspired by a Sanni exorcism mask that she saw on a trip to Sri Lanka. The mask was owned by a Singhalese medicine man who explained its background story to her. She immediately identified the evil demon, Maha Sohona Kola, with the corrupt Philippine dictator Marcos, and this inspired her to create a new and very different mask painting. In this trapunto painting, Pacita made Marcos, who is portrayed as a dragon demon that eats Filipino children, the central figure in her multi-masked artwork. The Marcos demon figure is flanked by 18 masks representing various deadly diseases, which named after Marcos’ main henchmen, military generals, sycophant businessmen, and corrupt officials in the dictator’s cabinet. Playing on a Dantesque allusion, she has the dictator standing atop the head of his infamous wife Imelda, portrayed as a bejeweled demon. Surrounding the masks, Pacita painted thousands of dots to represent the people who were harmed by the dictatorial regime. Pacita’s trapunto painting reaching nearly 20 feet high was created as a way to exorcise the corrupt Marcos regime from the Philippines, and two years later he and his family fled the country. The painting is now in the collection of the Singapore Art Museum.
Marcos and his cronies (detail), 1985 (197 x 115 in) Acrylic, oil, textile collage, mirrors, shells, buttons, glass beads, gold thread and padded cloth on stitched and padded cloth
Faces, 1983 (78 x 57 in) Oil, plastic buttons and rick rack on stitched and padded canvas
Pacita sailing, 1983 (106 x 55 in) Acrylic, rick rack ribbons, painted cloth on stitched and padded canvas
Pacita dancing, 1988 (58 x 35 in) Oil, beads, sequins, shells, mirrors, buttons collaged on paper mounted on board
Ati-Atihan III, 1986 (89 x 73 in) Acrylic, buttons, mirrors, rick rack ribbons on stitched and padded canvas
Ati-atihan dancer I, 1988 (30 x 20 in) Colorgraph
House of incest, 1991 (56 x 69 in) Oil, plastic beads, coral, cowrie shells, mirrors, gold yarn on stitched and padded canvas
On reaching 37, 1983 (92 x 56 in) Acrylic, painted cloth, rick rack ribbons, handwoven yarn on stitched and padded canvas
Dancing couple, 1987 (100 x 66 in) Acrylic, mirrors, tie-dyed cloth, buttons, rick rack ribbons on stitched and padded canvas
Moriones, 1990 (30 x 25 in) Acrylic, oil pastel on paper collaged on paper
Red-eye mask, 1994 (78 x 57 in) Oil, mirrors, plastic buttons, rick rack ribbons on stitched and padded canvas
Finger licking good, 1990 (39 x 25 in) Oil, painted canvas collaged on canvas
Brown mask, 1994 (49 x 35 in) Acrylic on canvas
AMERICAS Pacita traveled throughout the Americas from Canada to Peru, but the Caribbean Basin was the area that inspired Pacita the most. During her career she traveled to Mexico numerous times and spent time in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Haiti. She was invited to Cuba in 1986 to exhibit at the Segunda Bienal de la Habana that brought together 690 artists from Asia, Africa and Latin America. After the exhibition Pacita had the opportunity to travel around the country and explore Cuba with other artists. She also spent three months living in the Dominican Republic while she was an artist in residence at Altos de Chavon. She then crossed over the mountains to Haiti and explored the country’s African cultural heritage. Pacita immediately identified with these countries, as all except for Haiti shared a long Spanish colonial heritage with the Philippines. They each had distinctively rich native cultural traditions that attracted her, especially the Mayan Indian cultures of Guatemala and Mexico. In these countries she found new ideas to incorporate into her artwork, from the beautifully embroidered Mayan huipils and jewelry, as well as from the traditional molas sewn by the Indian women from the San Blas Islands in Panama. As in other parts of the world, Pacita started by painting socio-realistic portraits, but gradually her painting transitioned towards colorful masks. In Haiti she was drawn to the vibrant the colors, music, carvings, the expressionist masks and the African vodou traditions. She was particularly
taken by the unique Drapo Vodou flags she saw with their hand-sewn beads and sequins. This inspired her to incorporate sequins in many of her later trapunto paintings. Her joyous experiences with colorful masked festivals in the Philippines also attracted her artistic focus in the Caribbean. She enjoyed them all – Cinco de Mayo and the Day of the Dead in Mexico, Burning the Devil Festival in Guatemala, Carnival in the Dominican Republic and Haiti - and she subsequently used these celebrations as the basis for many of her mask paintings. Pacita Abad Art Estate’s tribal art collection
Mayan mask, 1990 (100 x 68 in) Acrylic, buttons, beads, mirrors, handwoven cloth, rick rack ribbons, sequins, padded cloth on stitched and padded cloth
Merengue mask, 1981 (87 x 69 in) Acrylic, glitter on stitched and padded canvas
Geno, 1983 (49 x 35 in) Oil, glitter and broken glass collaged on canvas mounted on board
Anito, 1986 (49 x 35 in) Oil on canvas
Tom, an angry man, 1981 (20 x 24 in) Acrylic, glitter on stitched and padded muslin
Hopi mask, 1990 (100 x 68 in) Acrylic, yarn, sequins stitched on padded canvas
Noriko, 1982 (25 x 19 in) Acrylic, buttons, beads, cowrie shells stitched on padded muslin
Lost in New York, 1990 (69 x 56 in) Oil, coconut shell buttons, mirrors on stitched and padded canvas
Waiting in Washington, 1990 (113 x 68 in) Acrylic, plastic buttons, mirrors on stitched on padded canvas
Issue of gender, 1988 (59 x 40 in) Acrylic, painted canvas, plaster of paris, dyed gauze, feathers mounted on board
Fuschia mask, 1985 (84 x 71 in)
Acrylic, plastic buttons, rick rack ribbons, cowrie shells on stitched and padded canvas
Jaguar man, 1982 (20 x 16 in) Oil on canvas board
Lizard face, 1988 (24 x 18 in) Oil on canvas
ARTIST PROFILE The internationally known Philippine-American painter Pacita Abad (19462004) was born on Batanes, a small island in the South China Sea. Her 32year painting career began when she had to leave the Philippines in 1969 due to her student political activism against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, and traveled to the United States to study law. However, a few years after receiving a Master of Arts degree in Asian History from the University of San Francisco she switched careers to dedicate her life to art. She then studied painting at the Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C. and The Art Students League in New York City. Since that time Pacita never stopped being a gypsy artist and painted the globe while working on six different continents and traveling to more than 50 countries. During her career Pacita created over 5,000 artworks and her paintings were exhibited in more than 200 museums and galleries around the world. Pacita’s travels significantly impacted her life and artistic style and were the inspiration for many of the ideas, techniques and materials that she incorporated in her paintings. Her journeys were also a tremendous crosscultural learning experience that made her acutely aware of the difficult lives that most women lead around the globe. They also heightened her sensitivity to the severe political, social, economic and environmental challenges she encountered across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Not surprisingly, as a socially concerned artist Pacita’s early socio-political paintings were of urban poor, displaced people, political violence, refugees
and immigrants in countries where she worked such as Bangladesh, Sudan, Dominican Republic, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the U.S. After her early social realism paintings, Pacita rejected the painterly emphasis on surface flatness, and sought ways to expand her painted canvases and make her work more sculptural. With the help of her sewing skills Pacita developed a unique, innovative painting style which she called trapunto painting, that fused her painted surfaces collaged with handstitched traditional materials, buttons, sequins, shells, mirrors and other found objects to blend with her signature strong colors. Her first series using this technique she called “Masks and Spirits” drawing on her travel experiences. Pacita created over 50 large, vibrantly colored, hand stitched and embellished trapunto paintings depicting masks and spirits from New Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Africa and the Americas. Her next artistic plunge was literally underwater, as Pacita created very large and colorful trapunto painting series based on her deep-sea scuba diving experiences throughout the Philippines. Inspired by nature’s beauty she simultaneously worked on a extensive series of flora and fauna paintings from the Australian Outback and Asia’s tropical gardens. Throughout her career her work was characterized by color, constant change and experimentation. Her most comprehensive and extensive body of work, which she focused on during the second half of her career are vibrantly colorful abstract, mixed-media painted textile collages and assemblages inspired by her stays in Indonesia, Singapore, India and Yemen. Many are very large canvases, but also a number of small collages on a range of surfaces, as she continuously explored new mediums, techniques and materials including prints, paper, bark cloth, glass ceramic, steel and other mediums. Pacita also created a number of noteworthy public art installations such as her six-piece, Masks from Six Continents, in the main Washington, D.C. Metro Station; batik canvas collage titled Celebration and Joy installed at the Singapore Expo; large hand-stitched Zamboanga wedding tent adorned with native textiles called 100 Years Of Freedom: from Batanes to Jolo to celebrate
the Philippine Centennial; and just before she died the 55-meter long Singapore Art Bridge which she covered with over 2,000 colorful circles while undergoing treatment for cancer. Pacita's paintings were featured in solo exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong; Museum of Philippine Art and the Metropolitan Museum in Manila; Bhirasri Institute of Modern Art, Bangkok, Thailand; Altos de Chavon, Dominican Republic; Art Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke; National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston; National Museum and the National Gallery of Art, Jakarta, Indonesia and the Hadeland Museum in Norway, among others. Pacita's work also appeared in numerous group exhibitions including: Beyond the Border: Art by Recent Immigrants, Bronx Museum; Asia/America: Identities in Contemporary Asian American Art, Asia Society, New York; Olympiad of Art (in conjunction with the 24th Olympics), National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, Korea; 2nd Asian Art Show, Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan; La Bienal de la Habana, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Habana, Cuba; Art for Africa, traveling exhibition to Oslo, Cologne, Algiers, London and Rome; UNESCO: 40 Years, 40 Countries, 40 Artists, traveling exhibition to 15 museums around the world; Filipino Artists Abroad, Metropolitan Museum of Manila; and At Home and Abroad: 21 Contemporary Filipino Artists, traveling exhibition to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston among others. Pacita’s paintings are now held in museum, public, corporate and private art collections in over 70 countries, and are regularly included in auctions by international auction houses. Among the museums that have collected Pacita’s paintings are: the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan, Singapore Art Museum in Singapore, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea, National Museum of the Philippines, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Museum Nasional of Indonesia, Museo de Bellas Artes in Havana, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, Bronx Museum in New York and Zimmerli Art Museum in New Jersey.
Biodata Born: Batanes, Philippines, October 5, 1946 Died: Singapore, December 7, 2004 Studied at: Art Students League of New York, NY, 1977 Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C. 1975 University of San Francisco, M.A. 1972 University of the Philippines, B.A. 1968 SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS Pacita held over 40 solo exhibitions at museums and galleries in Asia, the U.S., Europe, Africa and Latin America 2006 “Pacita: Through the Looking Glass”, Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay, Singapore 2005 “A Passion to Paint”, The World Bank Galleries, Washington, DC “A Special Tribute to Pacita Abad - A Philippine-American Artist”, School of Economics, Singapore Management University, Singapore 2004 “Circles in My Mind”, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila, curated by Prof. Rubén Defeo of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts (catalogue) “Genomic Medicine and Population Health”, Artist-in-Residence with GENOME Institute of Singapore 2004 “Pacita’s Painted Bridge”, Robertson Quay, Singapore (catalogue) “Circles in My Mind”, AndrewShire Gallery, Los Angeles, California (catalogue)
2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
“Batik Dinnerware Collection”, Senayan Cafe, Jakarta “Circles in My Mind”, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore (catalogue) “Endless Blues”, Hadeland Museum, Hadeland, Norway (catalogue) “Endless Blues”, Galleri Stockgard, Siuntio, Finland (catalogue) “Endless Blues”, Artfolio Gallery, Singapore (catalogue) "The Sky is the Limit”, Pulitzer Art Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands (catalogue) "The Sky is the Limit”, Gallery Stockgard, Siuntio, Finland (catalogue) "The Sky is the Limit”, Artfolio Gallery, Singapore (catalogue) "The Sky is the Limit”, Finale Art Gallery and SM Art Center Manila, Philippines (catalogue) “Palay” Montclair State University Art Galleries, New Jersey (catalogue) “Wayang Dinnerware Collection”, Koi Gallery, Jakarta (catalogue) “Door To Life”, Artfolio Gallery, Singapore (catalogue) “Door To Life”, Luz Gallery, Manila (catalogue) “Door To Life”, Bomani Gallery, San Francisco (catalogue) “Door To Life”, Gibson Creative, Washington, DC (catalogue) “Abstract Emotions”, National Museum, Jakarta (catalogue)
1998 1996 1995 1994 1994 1993 1992 1991 1989 1988 1986
“Abstract Emotions”, Hiraya Gallery, Manila (small works) “Exploring the Spirit”, National Gallery of Indonesia (catalogue) “Thinking Big”, curated by Cora Alvina, Metropolitan Museum of Manila “Postcards from the Edge”, Galleria Duemila, Manila “Twenty-four Flowers”, Liongoren Art Gallery, Makati, Philippines “Wayang, Irian and Sumba”, National Museum, Jakarta (catalogue) “The American Dream”, curated by Angela Adams National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC (brochure) “Assaulting the Deep Sea”, curated by Mark Scala Art Museum of Western Virginia (brochure) “Assaulting the Deep Sea”, curated by Deborah McLeod Peninsula Fine Arts, Norfolk, Virginia (brochure) “Flower Paintings”, Philippine Center, New York, NY ”Abstract Emotions”, Philippine Center, New York, NY “Wild At Art”, Ayala Museum, Makati, Philippines “Trapunto Paintings”, Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, DC “Asian Abstractions”, Fables Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts “Oriental Abstractions”, curated by Michael Chen Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong (catalogue)
1986 1985 1984 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977
"Assaulting the Deep Sea", Underwater installation at Ayala Museum, Manila, Philippines “Batanes – Landscape and People”, curated by Ray Albano Cultural Center of the Philippines “A Painter Looks at the World”, curated by Arturo Luz Museum of Philippine Art (catalogue) “Scenes From the Upper Nile”, curated by Harriet Kennedy Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, Massachusetts “Portraits of Cambodia”, curated by Amy Lighthill Boston University Art Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts (catalogue) “Streets of Santo Domingo”, curated by Isabel Caceres de De Castro Altos De Chavon, La Romana, Dominican Republic (catalogue) “Portraits of Cambodia”, curated by Daeng Chatvichai Promadhathavedi Bhirasri, Institute of Modern Art, Bangkok, Thailand “Recent Paintings of the Sudan”, curated by Abdullah Shibrain Exhibition Hall, Khartoum, Sudan “Paintings of Bangladesh”, Dhaka, Bangladesh “Recent Paintings”, 15th Street Studio, Washington, DC
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS Pacita participated in more than 50 group and traveling exhibitions throughout the world. 2012 “BEAT” Exhibit, Lopez Memorial Museum Library, Pasig City, Philippines 2008 “The Sum of its Parts”, Lopez Memorial Museum Library, Pasig City, Philippines 2007 “The Big Picture Show“, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore 2006 “The Shape That Is“, Jendela Gallery, The Esplanade, Singapore 2004 "Crossings: Philippine Works from the Singapore Art Museum ", Ayala Museum, Manila, Philippines 2004 “Global Entrepolis” by Singapore's Economic Development Board at Suntec City Singapore, Singapore “SingArt - A Brush With Lions”, Raffles Hotel, Singapore “TOYM Art Exhibit", Manila, Philippines (catalogue) 2003 “The Third Asia Women Art Exhibition”, Seoul, Korea “Seoul International Women’s Art Fair”, Seoul, Korea "Brown Strokes on a White Canvas, 2003" Eight Filipino-American Artists at George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia and Harmony Hall, Fort Washington, Maryland “Philippine Exhibit”, Martin Luther King Library, Washington, DC
2002 2001 2001 2000 1999
"Sino-Filipino Contemporary Art", Asia World Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan (catalogue) “Spirited Faces: Painting in the Woman”, Gallerie Belvedere, Singapore “Singapore Art Fair 2002, “Suntec City, Singapore “Sky is the Limit installation”, curated by Valentine Willy The Esplanade, Singapore (catalogue) “Brown Strokes on a White Canvas”, World Bank Gallery and Foundry Gallery, Washington, DC “The Studio Portrait, A collaborative project by Carol Sun”, Bronx Museum, New York, NY “Mask: The Other Face of Humanity”, Sonobudoyo Museum Yogyakarta, Indonesia “Conversations with the Permanent Collection”, Bronx Museum, New York, NY "ARTSingapore 2000”, First Contemporary Southeast Asian Festival, MITA, Singapore “Luna: comic drama and art to wear”, directed by Gilda Cordero Fernando, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila ”Handmade: Shifting Paradigms”, curated by Tay Swee Lin, Singapore Art Museum (catalogue) "Women Beyond Borders”, a traveling exhibit organized by Lorraine Serena, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Southern California, Akino Fuku Museum, Japan, Tin Sheds Gallery University of Sydney,
Australia; Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney; Gallery Saigon, Vietnam; Gallery One, Tokyo, Japan 1999 1998 1997
"Global Woman Project 1999-2000”, curated by Claudia De Monte, traveling exhibit in the United States "Histories (Re)membered: Selections from the Permanent Collection”, Paine Webber Art Gallery, New York, NY "V'spartio (Very Special Arts)", Artfolio, Singapore and Osaka, Japan "At Home and Abroad: 21 Contemporary Filipino Artists”, traveling exhibition to Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Catalogue) “Woman”, Institute of Contemporary Art (PS.1), New York, NY “Bayan”, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines “The Gallery Artists, Part 2”, Brix Gallery, Manila, Philippines “New Asian Art”, Hong Kong Visual Arts Center, Hong Kong “World Batik Exhibition”, Ardiyanto Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia “Filipino Artists Abroad”, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines “National Craft Acquisition Award”, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia “Talk Back! The Community Responds to the Permanent Collection”, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York, NY
1997 1996 1996
1995
“8th International Biennal Print and Drawing Exhibit”, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan (catalogue) “Book Art IV”, Luz Gallery, Makati, Philippines ”7th International Biennal Print and Drawing Exhibit”, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan (catalogue) ”National Craft Acquisition Award”, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia “Memories of Overdevelopment: Philippine Diaspora in Contemporary Visual Art”, curated by Yong Soon Min and Alan de Souza, traveling exhibit to University of California Art Galleries, North Dakota Art Museum; Plug-In Gallery, Canada “Looking at Ourselves: The American Portrait”, curated by Laura Vookles, Hudson River Museum of Westchester in New York (brochure) “Eight Paths to a Journey: Cultural Identity and the Immigration Experience”, curated by Mel Watkin, Ellipse Gallery, Arlington, Virginia “Defining Ourselves”, curated by Anna Fariello, Radford University Galleries, Radford, Virginia “Contemporary Art of the Non-Aligned Countries”, curated by G. Sheikh T.K. Sabapathy, A. Poshyananda and Jim Supangkat, National Gallery of Indonesia (catalogue) “AKO, Filipino Self Portraits”, curated by Cora Alvina, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines
1995 1993 1993
1992
“disOriented: Shifting Identities of Asian Women in America”, curated by Margo Machida Steinbaum Krauss Gallery and Henry Street Settlement Abrams Art Center, New York, NY “Beyond the Border: Art by Recent Immigrants”, curated by Betti Sue Hertz, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, NY (catalogue) “Asia/America: Identities in Contemporary Asian American Art”, curated by Margo Machida and organized by the Asia Society Galleries, NY - traveling to the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Honolulu Academy of Fine Arts, Hawaii; Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena, San Francisco MIT List Visual Arts Center, Massachusetts and Blaffer Gallery, University of Houston, Texas (catalogue) “TOUCH, Beyond the Visual”, curated by Angela Adams and Paula Owen - a traveling exhibitions organized by the Hand Workshop, Richmond, Virginia to include Sawtooth Center for the Visual Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, Danville, Virginia; Piedmont Arts Association, Martinsville, Virginia (catalogue) “Women’s Spirit with Pacita Abad, Hung Liu, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Howardena Pindell, Joyce Scott”, Bomani Gallery, San Francisco, California “Washington Project for the Arts at the Hemicycle”, curated by Marilyn Zeitlin Alan Prokop, Judy Jashinsky and Sammy Hoi, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC “Crossing Over/Changing Places”, curated by Jane Farmer, sponsored by USIA, a traveling exhibit in the United States and Europe including Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb; Helsinki City Art Kunstmuseum, Denmark; National Gallery of Art, Athens; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (catalogue)
1991 1991 1990 1988 1986 1984
”Fiber: The State of the Art”, curated by Rebecca Stevens, Meyerhoff Gallery, Maryland Institute and College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland “Nine Paths to a Journey: The Immigrant Experience”, curated by Mel Watkin Ellipse Gallery, Arlington, Virginia (brochure) “Day of the Dead”, curated by Geno Rodriguez, Alternative Museum, New York, NY (brochure) “Art for Africa”, curated by Andre Parinaud, traveling exhibition to museums in Paris, Oslo, Cologne, Algiers, London and Rome ”Olympiad of Art”, curated by Ante Glibota, Pierre Restany, Thomas Messer and Uske Nakahara, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea (catalogue) “La Bienal de la Habana”, Museo Nacional de Belles Artes, Habana, Cuba (catalogue) “UNESCO: 40 Years, 40 Countries, 40 Artists”, curated by Andre Parinaud traveling exhibit in museums of 40 member countries (catalogue) “First International Print Bienale”, curated by Huang Tsai-lang, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan (catalogue) “Asian Art Biennale”, curated by Syed Jahangir, National Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh (catalogue) “Second Asian Art Show” curated by Nonon Padilla, Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan (catalogue) “Three Faces in Philippine Art”, curated by Rod Paras Perez, BMW Gallery, Munich, Germany (catalogue)
1984
“Sino-Filipino Modern Art”, Asia World Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan “Association of South East Asian Countries”, curated by Rod Paras Perez, a traveling exhibition to museums in South East Asian countries
COSTUME DESIGNS Pacita was involved as a costume designer for a number of collaborative Asian theater groups • “Luna: Comic Drama and Art to Wear”, theater extravaganza for the New Millennium with an all star cast of Filipino artists, models and performers produced by Gilda Cordero Fernando and directed by Manny Chaves, Cultural Center of the Philippines, 2000 • “Long After Love”, Pacific Bridge Theater, Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian, 1992 • “Folktales of Lola Ita”, sponsored by Amauan, Applecore Theater, New York, NY 1988 WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES Pacita constantly gave workshops and artist talks to children, women and students across the world during her 32-year artistic career. 2004 “Painting the Globe” Artist Talk, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore "ArtSingapore 2004: Asian Contemporary Art, Where Are We Going From Here?" Artist Talk, Suntec City, Singapore "Paper Pulp and Print" Workshop for Globe Quest guest, in conjunction to the "Circles in My Mind" exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila
2004 2003 2002 2001
"Paper Pulp and Print" Workshop for Singapore Airlines guest, in conjunction to the "Circles in My Mind" exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila "Make-A-Wish Workshop" with Klein, a 9-year old PhilippineSingaporean boy who suffers from cancer “Collage Painting” Workshop, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore “Finns in Singapore Trapunto Painting” Workshop, Singapore “Contemporary Trends of Philippine Art Overseas”, talk given to docents at Singapore Art Museum “Trapunto Painting” Workshop, given to Scandinavian community in Singapore ”Trapunto painting”, Asian Civilization Museum Singapore “Collage Painting” Workshop, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore “Collage Painting” Workshop, Singapore Art Museum “Asian Contemporary Art”, Artist Talk, Singapore Art Museum “The Philippines: Prospects in Business and the Arts”, sponsored by Philippine Cultural Society at Hilton Hotel, Singapore “Trapunto Painting” Workshops given to members of Singapore Art Museum, Tanglin Trust students, talk and slide presentation given to American Club members in Singapore “The 9/11 Phoenix Project”, a collaborative Trapunto Workshop at the Southwest School of Arts and Crafts that created a three muralinstallation with local artists from San Antonio, Texas
2000 1999 1998 1996 1995 1994
1993
"Wayang Influences on Art”, lecture given to Indonesian Heritage Society, Jakarta, Indonesia Trapunto Painting workshops at the Tanglin Trust School, Singapore; Metropolitan Museum of Manila Artist Talk, Singapore Art Museum and LaSalle College of Art, Singapore Artist Talk, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco Trapunto Painting Workshop, University of the Philippines and Metropolitan Museum of Manila Trapunto Painting Workshop, National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta Trapunto Painting Workshop, Metropolitan Museum of Manila and British School in Jakarta, Indonesia "Artist + Community”, trapunto painting workshop given to schools in Maryland and Washington, DC (Savoy Elementary School, Thompson Elementary School, Oyster Bilingual School, Mabuhay Group) sponsored by the National Museum for Women in the Arts "Exploring America's Cultures: Asian American Art & Culture”, Columbia University Teacher's College, New York, NY "Cultural Identity: Evaluating Otherness”, Crafts and Ethics Symposium, Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Textile Museum mask-making workshop for Oyster Bilingual Elementary School students, Washington, DC
1993
1992 1991 1991 1989
"Light in the Labyrinth”, painting workshop with patients with Alzheimer's to sharpen their remaining abilities, help maintain mind and motor skills and encourage independence, work with the Meridian Healthcare's FOCUS program “Potomac Craftsmen”, lecture on trapunto paintings, Washington, D.C Asian-American Pacific Heritage Council Conference, "Impact of Arts, Culture and Media on the Politics and Economics of Asian Pacific”, panel, Arlington, Virginia Philippine Arts, Letters and Media, Washington, DC trapunto painting workshop Pyramid Atlantic, "Asian Festival”, mural workshop for Asian children University of the Philippines, Trapunto Painting Workshop University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Art To Wear workshop Textile Museum, Washington, DC "Celebration of Textiles”, workshop George Washington University, Dimock Gallery in relation to the show, "Temples of Gold, Crowns of Silver”, lecture Art In Public Places, MetroArt II, Washington DC, Artist Talk MetroArt in Washington, Washington, DC, Artist Talk Imagination Celebration-Kennedy Center Mural Workshop New York State Council on the Arts, Lincoln Community Center, New York, NY, Trapunto Painting Workshop for Amauan members
1988 1986
1979
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, taught two, three-month courses on trapunto painting Lectures given to students at schools and universities: Boston University; University of Massachusetts; College of Arts, Sudan; Dhaka College of Fine Arts in Bangladesh; public schools and colleges in Metropolitan Manila Lectures given to museums and other organizations: Shilpakala Academy of Fine Arts, Bangladesh; Bhirasri Museum of Modern Art, Thailand; Museum of Philippine Art; Cultural Center of the Philippines; Ayala Museum; World Affairs Council of Northern California; Jaycees and Rotary Clubs in the Philippines; and various women's organizations
AWARDS, GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS Pacita received many awards, fellowships and artist residencies during her career • ALIWW “Parangal” Ateneo University, Manila, Philippines • GENOME Institute of Singapore, Singapore, artist-in-residence, 2004 • Centre d’Art Marnay Art Centre, Marnay, France, artist-in-residence, 2003 • Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore, artist-in-residence, Visiting Artists Program, 2003 • Southwest School of Art and Craft, San Antonio, Texas, artist-in-residence, 2001 • Montclair State University, New Jersey, artist-in-residence, 2001 • Lindshammar, Sweden, Glass painting, Indra technique, artist-inresidence, 2001 • PAMANA NG PILIPINO Award for outstanding achievement in the arts, given by the President of the Philippines, Manila, 2000
• "Filipina Firsts”, a compendium of 100 Filipino women who have broken ground in their fields of endeavor organized by the Philippine American Foundation in Manila and Washington, DC, 1998 • Likha Award marking the Centennial of Philippine Independence, given in recognition of outstanding achievement, 1998 • Excellence 2000 Awards for the Arts, given by U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC, 1995 • Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Artist Workshop Program, 1993-94 • OPUS B, a production company in Maryland creating collaborations between elders, inner-city youth and artists, artist-in-resident, 1993 • Virginia Center for Creative Arts, artist-in-resident, 1992, 1994, 1996 • Rutgers Center for Innovative Printmaking, artist-in-residence, 1991, 1992 and 1993 • Gwendolyn Caffritz Award, Pyramid Atlantic, artist-in-residence, 1991 and 1992 • MetroArt II Award, mural installed at Metro Center, Washington, DC 199095 • National Endowment for the Arts, Visual Arts Fellowship, 1989-90 • DC Commission on the Arts, GIA Grant, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1991-92 • New York State Council on the Arts, Visiting Artist Program, 1988-89 • TOYM Award for the Most Outstanding Young Artist in the Philippines, 1984 • Altos de Chavon, Dominican Republic, artist-in-residence, 1982
WORK IN MUSEUM COLLECTIONS • Ayala Museum of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines • Bhirasri Museum of Modern Art, Bangkok, Thailand • Bronx Museum of the Art, Bronx, New York • Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines • Eugenio Lopez Museum, Manila, Philippines • Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan • Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, New Jersey • Jordan National Gallery of Fine Art, Amman, Jordan • Lopez Memorial Museum, Manila, Philippines • Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines • Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic • Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba • Museum and Art Gallery in the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia • Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, Massachusetts • National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia • National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C. • National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. • National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea • National Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka • National Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh • National Museum, Jakarta, Indonesia • Singapore Art Museum, Singapore • Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
Fundaciรณn Pacita, Batanes