Jose Joya, National Artist

Jose Joya, National Artist

Abstractionist Jose T. Joya was posthumously proclaimed a National Artist by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on May 26, 2003.

Joya, named as a National Artist for Visual Arts, was cited because “his art constitutes an important landmark in the development of Philippine modern art. His legacy is a large body of work of consistent excellence which has won the admiration of artists both in the local and the international scene”.

Jose Tanig Joya was born in Manila on June 3, 1931, the son of Jose Joya Sr. and Asuncion.

He graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts, earning the distinction of being the university's first magna cum laude.

In 1954 to 1955, the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica of the Spanish government awarded him a painting grant in Madrid. A year later he finished his master's degree in painting under a Fulbright Smith-Mundt grant. He also received a grant from the John D. Rockefeller III Fund and Ford Foundation to paint in New York, from 1967 to 1969.

Joya started sketching at the age of 11. He had initially wanted to become an architect, but the mathematics and science subjects discouraged him. At the UP, he was exposed to the paintings of Fernando Amorsolo who would eventually be recognized as a National Artist. Among Joya's other early influences were Vicente Manansala, yet another National Artist, and Anita Magsaysay-Ho.

Joya's first works were mostly representational. During the late 1950s, he gradually shifted to abstract painting and became one of the leading painters in this genre.

He designed and painted on ceramic vessels, plates and tiles, as well as sketches in pentel. He also did work in the graphic arts, particularly in printmaking.

Joya held many one-man shows here and abroad starting in 1954 at the Philippine Art Gallery. In 1981, a retrospective of his works was held at the Museum of Philippine Art. In 1987, the French government bestowed on him the "Order of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres."

Among the positions he held were: president of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), 1962-1965; dean of the UP College of Fine Arts 1970-1978; chairperson of two Philippine delegations to China, 1961 and 1972. He was also a holder of the Amorsolo Professorial Chair in UP in 1985. He served as chairperson of the National Committee on Visual Ants, of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.

He won several awards and distinctions, including: The Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award for Painting and the Republic Cultural Heritage Award, both in 1961; the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the City of Manila, 1971; finalist for An Abstraction of Strength and Refinement in the Mobil Foundation competition, 1980; first prize for Gossips in the 1952 Shell National Students Art Competition, 1952; the ASEAN Cultural Award, 1970; and the Gawad CCP para sa Sining, 1991.

His awards from the Art Association of the Philippines include: first prize, Cathedral, 1958; second prize, Space Transfiguration, 1959; third prize, City Entering the Edge of Sundown, 1951; third prize, House of Life, 1960; purchase award, Church Silver, 1960; second prize, Cathedral, 1962; and honorable mention, Yellow Harvest, 1962.

Joya died in 1996.

Kulay-Diwa  is a venue for Philippines and Southeast Asian Contemporary Art. Inaugurated on February 7, 1987, Kulay-Diwa, is strategically located within a cluster of communities South of Manila.  It has five independent exhibition areas able to accommodate large-scale works and a garden ideal for programs, performances and sculpture installations.  The goals of the gallery are to discover and promote the works of young, talented but deserving Filipino Artists and to foster cultural interaction and exchanges with the local regions and other countries.

Kulay (Colour)

Diwa  (Spirit, Thought)

Jose Joya, Pen & Ink

Jose Joya,"Mother and Child (Standing)", Pastel on Paper, 48 x 33 cms., 1980's

Joya, "Male Nude 2", Pastel on Paper, 48 x 33 cms., 1991

Jose Joya, "Male Nude", Pastel on Paper, 49 x 32 cms., 1986

Jose Joya, "Female Nude", Sketch, 25 x 12 cms., 1956

Jose Joya, "Tetchie", Pastel on Paper, 48 x 33 cms., 1993

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