Freeway celebrates artist Vicente Manansala with its new collection

Friday, 21 October 2011 00:00 Lorraine Mancio Cueva

For two years now, local retail brand Freeway has been designing limited edition pieces inspired by our National Artists. Through this, we get a glimpse of how fashion marries with art and how this combination encourages nationalistic pride. This year, Freeway’s National Artist Collector’s Series honors the craft of cubist painter Vicente Manansala for the sixth installment of the collection that previously featured Nick Joaquin for Literature, Ang Kiukok for Visual Arts, Jose Garcia Villa for Literature, Ramon Valera for Fashion Design, and recently, F. Sionil Jose, the first living National Artist in the Series, for Literature.

Freeway and Vicente Manansala

The 22-piece Holiday 2011 capsule collection was launched last October 18, 2011 at The Row, Glorietta 5. Divine Lee and Tim Yap kept the atmosphere as vibrant as Vicente Manansala’s paintings as they hosted the event, witnessed by media, bloggers, and stylephiles alike.

A celebrated pioneer

Vicente Manansala was a Pampangueño who studied Fine Arts from 1926 to 1930 in the University of the Philippines. He was also trained in the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Canada in 1949, after which he was granted a nine-month scholarship to study in the same school, this time in Paris. Later on he learned stained glass techniques in New York, trained at the Otis Art Institute in 1967, and studied in Zurich in 1970, thanks to another grant he had received, this time from Germany. From these institutions he was educated the classical techniques of rendering art, but also honed the style that we are familiar with today.

Back then, Manansala’s painting technique was, more often than not, frowned upon – Amorsolo’s balanced proportions and detailed rendering, as well as his idyllic subjects, were thought to be how art should be. Manansala’s creations, however, often depict societal issues while showcasing the local environment, from jeepneys to slums.

Additionally, cubism was regarded a foreign concept by traditionalists because of its radical way of redefining space in paintings, but Manansala embraced this. He developed ‘transparent cubism’ wherein the facets and layers of the painting are superimposed, so as to create a diaphanous veil that created more spatial depth. As such, he is among the notable artists of the modernist movement in the Philippine art history, together with Victorio C. Edades, H. R. Ocampo, and Cesar Legaspi. Considered the Philippine’s pioneer in Cubism, Manansala was awarded the prestigious title, National Artist for Visual Arts (Painting), in 1981.

Beyond traditional media

Today we are able to appreciate Manansala’s talent, skill, and passion not only in his famous paintings, such as Madonna of the Slums (1950) and Jeepneys (1951), but in his murals that withstood the test of time. The Stations of the Cross inside the Church of the Holy Sacrifice in UP Diliman has Manansala’s mark all over it, as well as the mural at the Philippine Heart Center. To be around his works (celebrated not just in our shores but also in Asia and worldwide) is a humbling experience that makes you proud to be Filipino, all at the same time.

A mural in the UP Chapel by Vicente Manansala
Photo by Keith Sundiang

Freeway’s nod to Manansala’s craft revives the deep connection between Filipino fashion and art, allowing more Filipinos to appreciate this creative union. As the models sashayed down the runway wearing the Holiday collection, the background displayed the National Artist’s creations. The pieces were wearable art; classic silhouettes were given life through Manansala’s vibrant colors and pronounced shapes.

And although the models were styled in perfect coifs and two-toned high heels reminiscent of decades past, the clothes could easily be worn with aplomb by today’s trendsetters. Like what Manansala thought of art, Freeway proves that fashion can be enjoyed in many ways, even if it meant defying the norm.

Freeway X Manansala Launch