PACITA ABAD
SMU School of Economics
Self-‐portrait, 62 by 28 in
PACITA ABAD www.pacitaabad.com Pacita Abad (1946-2004), a Philippine-American artist, studied painting in America at the Corcoran School of Art and the Art Students League, and proceeded to paint the globe with color. Though she worked on six continents, most of her 32-year artistic career was spent painting in Southeast and South Asian countries, including: the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh and India. Pacita's painting is characterized by color, constant change and experimentation from the 1970's right up to her passing in 2004. Her most extensive body of work consists of her vibrantly colorful, mixed media textile collages, abstract assemblages, trapunto paintings, paper collages and prints. Many of these are large canvases, incorporating hand stitched textiles, ribbons, sequins, buttons and beads, but there are also a number of smaller collaged or embellished works. A disciplined and prolific painter, Pacita created over 4,500 artworks, and one of her last public art projects was the painting of the 55-meter long Alkaff Bridge in Singapore - which she covered with over 2,000 multicolored circles - just a few months before she died. A truly global artist, her paintings were shown in over 200 museum and galleries, with 75 solo exhibitions, in Asia, U.S., Australia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. Pacita's paintings are now in 25 museums and other public, corporate and private art collections in over 70 countries.
Pacita Abad Collection
In 2005 Pacita Abad Art Estate and Singapore Management University’s School of Economics agreed to establish the Pacita Abad Collection on the 5th floor of their University building. The gallery shows 90 artworks created by Pacita Abad provided by the Estate on a long term loan. These works include: 37 prints, paper pulp pieces and paper sculptures done by Pacita during her three-month stay at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute; 53 paper collages; as well as her SingArt painted lion and large digital images of the Singapore ArtBridge. SMU's Pacita Abad Collection is open from 9 to 5 pm to the public by appointment. Please contact Ms. Linda Liu at +65 6828 0288, 90 Stamford Road, Singapore 178903.
Sweet things are made of these, 50 by 40 in
Join the circle, 50 by 40 in
Close to you, Enki’s whirl, 32 by 42 in
In 2003, Pacita was invited to be the first woman selected as a Visiting Artist at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI). During her three-month stay she collaborated and experimented with a professional team of printers to create: 9 edition prints, 29 unique paper pulp pieces, and 18 threedimensional, sculptural assemblages. Her series, "Circles in My Mind", was not only colorful, but featured her signature embellishments that gave the prints a surprising organic life and a delightful playfulness.
Red is my middle name, 52 by 66 in
Bustling colors, 50 by 40 in
Oh happy days, 66 by 52 in
His and hers, 57 by 24 in
Bra sale, 68 by 29 in
I don’t want to hear about it (detail), 53 by 28 in
Morning rising (detail), 53 by 28 in
Big snail, 30 by 22 in
Dim sum delight 5, 14 by 11 in
Pacita Abad Art Estate www.pacitaabad.com Email: pabadart@yahoo.com