Arturo R. Luz
Full Name: Arturo Rogerio Luz
Born: November 20, 1926, in Manila, Philippines
Died: Evening of May 26, 2021 (aged 94), Philippines
Arturo R. Luz is a Philippine National Visual Artist, he is a well-known
printmaker, sculptor, designer, and art administrator. He studied Fine Arts at the
University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Art School of the Brooklyn Museum in New
York, Académie Grade Chaumière in Paris, and received a diploma from the
California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland in 1994. He is a founder of the
modern Neo-realist school in Philippine art and the founding director of the
Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 1976, holding the position until 1986 and received
the National Artist Award, the country's highest accolade in the arts, in 1997. Luz’s
parents are Valeriano K. Luz and Rosario Dimayug. He married artist Tessie Ojeda
Luz and 4 children namely, Angela Luz, Paola Luz, Luisa Luz Lansigan, Claudia Luz.
Luz describe his art as “semirepresentational, semiabstract” as they mostly
show simplicity and restraint, with muted colors and subtle form. Some of his famous
works are Candle Vendors, Bagong Taon, Cities of the Past, Night Glows, Imaginary
Landscapes, Vendador de Flores, etc.
Luz was famous for creating geometric artworks. He began sculpting rather
late. Just like his painting, his sculptures are characterized by simplicity of line and
geometry of form. He worked with local hardwoods, marble, and metal and only held
exhibits of his sculptures in Manila. His work is described as “sparse and spatial”.