Federico Aguilar Alcuaz

Was born in Sta Cruz, Mla 1932 died 2010. (Early Landscapes, Tapestries, abstract and figurative work) Married to Ute Schmitz, a German. Studied Law, Ateneo de Mla. Studied fine arts, UP, 1949 and at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, the school attended by a number of Filipino masters in the 19th and early 20th centuries , such as Luna, Hidalgo, de la rosa, and Amorsolo. First Solo, 1953. More than 40 exhibit since. Recd the FF awards: 1st prizes, SNSAC 1954; Prix Montcada y Reixach, 1957p; Prix Francisco Goya, 1958; Dplome d' Honneur, Exhibition Internationale d' Art Libre, Paris, 1961; 2nd prize, Fourth Biennial of Tarrasas, Barcelona, Prix Vancell, 1964; Decoration of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, from the French Govt, 1964; Order of the French Genius, 1964; Republic Cultural Heritage award, 1965; Patnubay ng Sining At Kalinangan award, 1966. [CCP Vol IV-SP]***Represented in the collections of the Natl Museum, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in Madrid, Gulbenkian Foundation Museum in Lisbon, several museums in Spain, and many private art collections. [CPA-MD]***One of the most exciting Filipino artists today, Critics acclaim his landscapes, still life’s, flowers and portraits for their bewtithcing presence, In Barcelona, he found his true center, discovering the art of Tapies and Cuixart, the Catalans art rebels, and coming unconsciously under their influence. Soon he was veering from landscapes to non-figurative painting. He began to paint a submarine world of nightmare. Cezanne may be the first painter to try to bring the 4th dimension into painting, and for want of a better name. His critics referred to his works as cubistic. Zobel's latest works are one-dimensional because he has allowed his intellect to rule over his sense of color, his feelings. He has rationalized his art. Joya's paintings are two-dimensional. One gets the feeling he tried to get out of his artistic impasses by making his brushstrokes heavier. Alcuaz, in his work, is creating a new language, a NEW dimension. He is one of the genuine artists of our generation, yet he is just 35 years old (while) Picasso took more than half a century to develop his full potential.