Born in 1934, Rosario “Charito” de Lara Bitanga-Peralta's creative work was predominantly inspired by the 1950s Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, a form of painting that explored notions of spirituality and the sublime. She is a pioneering modernist painter and arts educator, who originally hailed from Laoag, Province of Ilocos, Philippines.
Although presently retired, Bitanga continues to paint, and even promote Filipina artists to this day. R. Bitanga is iconic as the Philippines' first and foremost woman abstract artist.
