Sanso: Art Quest Between Two Worlds

by Rod. Paras-Perez, Nick Joaquín (Introduction)

A monograph of the Spanish artist Juvenal Sanso (b. 1929) written by Rod Paras-Perez, with an introduction by Nick Joaquin. Joaquin wrote, "The art of Sanso belongs to a fantastic world. The flower compositions, the landscapes, reveal a mysterious universe full of magic. It is this wonderment that gives his paintings their beauty and renders them both unique and unforgettable. Starting with realistic designs of beautifully firm strokes, he creates visions of nature yet unseen, where the accumulation of certain elements like spongy rocks, mounds of stones, bamboo scaffoldings, form dream landscapes of singular greatness."

148 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Rodolfo Paras-Perez (1934-2011) was an eminent Philippine art scholar and printmaker who has written definitive books biographies on noted Philippine visual artists including: Vicente Manansala, Fernando Amorsolo, Juvenal Sansó, Guillermo Tolentino, Fernando Zóbel and Federico Aguilar Alcuaz. He was the first Filipino scholar that earned a doctorate degree from Harvard University in art history. Paras-Perez himself was an accomplished printmaker with widespread exhibitions in Manila, New York and Hong Kong.

Reviews

[Matthew Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before the occasion of Juvenal Sansó's retrospective in 2016, I discovered Sansó's work through the monograph by Rod. Paras-Perez, one of the eminent Philippine art scholars back when I purchased the book in 2014. It broadened my eyes on this neglected and often ridiculed expatriate artist, who although Spanish by birth was ever more Filipino. The book is by itself an artwork, nothing the layout done by Paras-Perez himself, but his sharp criticism on Sansó paints his artworks in a different light altogether.