Accompanied by a certificate signed by Ms. Luisa Luz-Lansigan confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: : The Crucible Gallery

ABOUT THE WORK

The progression of Arturo Luz's subject matter can be described using two words: reinvention and innovation. After working on his carnival series (Celebration, Carnival Forms, and Forms of Amusement), he advanced into a subject whose approach contrasts his carnival works. In 1988, Luz visited several Asian heritage sites: the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Sukhotai in Thailand, the Borobodur in Indonesia, and the Hindu and Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques of South Asia. Inspired by his Asian sojourns, Luz created utopian cities graced with visionary architecture: ancient temples, forts, and palaces that have stood the test of time and history. Luz translated his visions of these architectural wonders into his iconic geometric abstract – minimalist style, transforming these monumental structures into panoramic landscapes without sacrificing their magnificence. Luz conceived his Cities of the Past series, resulting from a nostalgic longing for his Asian travels. Through reinventing his subject matter, Luz invites us to revel in awe despite the apparent ambiguity of the composition. Luz says of this series: "These architectural paintings – which I call Cities of the Past – are imaginary landscapes, recollections of my Asian pilgrimages. They have one common element: they are not literal but rather composite images from memory. They are imagined, transformed, invented." In Imaginary Landscape, Luz deconstructs his subject matter of its defining characteristics, only retaining its simplest elements. Luz creates a landscape with monochromatic grass-like figures superimposed on alternating black and golden ochre strips. These lines are transformed and reconstructed as dynamic structural figures that breathe life into the composition with their imposing skyward orientation. The figures are formed by the interweaving of abstract grids of lines, creating a stimulating and vibrant, distinctly sweeping pictorial surface. Rod. Paras Perez noted that "even in asymmetrical compositions, the paintings exude a collective calm and serenity, an almost mathematical conjoining of parts, and a sensitive sense of placement."