Singapore’s first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to Fernando Zóbel unveils fresh narratives about the cosmopolitan artist.

Words Jewel Chuaunsu
Photo courtesy of National Gallery Singapore
June 2, 2025

Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential is the National Gallery Singapore’s first solo exhibition dedicated to the work of Spanish-Filipino artist Fernando Zóbel. This landmark presentation expands and deepens the narrative around Zóbel—not only as a cosmopolitan artist, but also as a patron, collector, and scholar.

Fernando Zóbel, c. 1950s, photograph from Nap Jamir

The exhibition title, Order is Essential, is drawn from an interview conducted by writer Rafael Pérez-Madero, who noted an overall “sense of order” in Zóbel’s paintings. Zóbel affirmed this observation, stating: “Order is essential. In the widest sense of the word, order is one of the secrets of what I recognize as beauty.”

Dr. Patrick Flores, Chief Curator at National Gallery Singapore and the exhibition’s Project Director and Co-curator, explains that the title reflects the creative tension between the dynamism of abstraction and the rigor of Zóbel’s methodology.

Dr. Patrick Flores, Chief Curator at National Gallery Singapore, and the Project Director and Co-curator of *Fernando Zóbel,* *Order is Essential*

In this inaugural Singapore showcase of Zóbel’s work, the National Gallery positions him as a global modernist. The exhibition is structured around key cities where the transcontinental artist lived and worked from the 1940s to the 1980s: Boston and Rhode Island in North America; Manila in the Philippines; and Madrid and Cuenca in Spain.

Dr. Flores emphasizes that global modernism makes the point that there is no single source of modernism—it doesn’t originate solely from the West. The non-Western art world is not just a passive receiver of modernism but an active co-producer of it.

Installation view of *Half of this Haunted Monk’s Life, Fernando Zóbel, Order is Essential,* National Gallery Singapore, 2025

He adds that global modernism doesn’t dismiss national art histories, but rather connects them to a broader network of modernist practices around the world. While Zóbel’s work was shaped by the modernisms of North America, the Philippines, and Spain, he also played a role in shaping those modernisms in turn.

The exhibition begins with “Half of this haunted monk’s life,” a prologue featuring Zóbel’s first and last recorded paintings: “Copy of ‘A Wheatfield with Cypresses’ (1889) by Vincent van Gogh” and “El Puente (The Bridge).” This pairing highlights Zóbel’s evolution from a student of art history to an abstract artist with a distinct voice.

Formative Years in New England

Installation view of *With every single refinement*, *Fernando Zóbel, Order is Essential,* National Gallery Singapore, 2025

“With every single refinement” explores Zóbel’s years at Harvard University and the Rhode Island School of Design. While at Harvard, he studied literature and history, writing his thesis on Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca. On display in this section are slides from Zóbel’s art history class, Zóbel’s lecture notes, his illustrations for Lorca’s play Amor de Don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín, and his portrait of his mentor, Jim Pfeufer. Zóbel moved in Boston’s artistic circles, notably with Pfeufer and Reed Champion, and maintained correspondence with his cousin, artist and collector Alfonso Ossorio.

During his time at the Rhode Island School of Design, Zóbel encountered a 1955 exhibition of Mark Rothko’s work, which he described as having “completely dazzled” him. The show features representative works by Rothko and Franz Kline—both prominent figures in American Abstract Expressionism and artists Zóbel greatly admired.

Return to Manila

After completing his studies in the late 1940s, Zóbel returned to Manila in the early 1950s and began working for his family’s business. The next section, “Thin lines against a field of colour,” delves into Zóbel’s artistic production in Manila. It opens with a photograph of a young Zóbel and his family at their home in the late 1930s. The Zóbel de Ayala family is the founding force behind Ayala Corporation, the Philippines’ largest and oldest conglomerate. Despite his corporate responsibilities, Zóbel remained engaged with his artistic pursuits.

Zóbel was a self-taught artist whose early works reveal a broad range of influences, from the vibrant palette reminiscent of Matisse in “Self-Portrait on the Red Wall,” to the experimentation with cubism in “Seated Man (Nothing III).”

Installation view of *Thin lines against a field of colour*, *Fernando Zóbel, Order is Essential,* National Gallery Singapore, 2025

Beyond his practice, Zóbel was also a scholar. He studied Philippine colonial sculpture and authored a significant book on Philippine Religious Imagery. Traditional carrozas—elaborately decorated floats used in religious processions—inspired some of his notable early pieces. In fact, his painting “Carroza” (1953) won first prize in the modern category of the Art Association of the Philippines competition, affirming his emergence as a serious artist.

During the 1950s, modern art began to gain momentum in the Philippines. Zóbel was part of a pioneering group that included Jose Joya, Arturo Luz, Cesar Legaspi, H.R. Ocampo, Nena Saguil, Victor Oteyza, Lee Aguinaldo, Cenon Rivera, and Manuel Rodriguez Sr. They frequently exhibited at Lyd Arguilla’s Philippine Art Gallery, a hub for modern art.

In 1953, Zóbel participated in the First Non-Objective Art Exhibition in the Philippines, organized by the Philippine Art Gallery. The exhibition marked a shift towards abstraction that wasn’t concerned with portraying recognizable objects from visible reality. A section of Order is Essential features pieces from this seminal show, alongside representative works by participating artists.

Zóbel’s exposure to Rothko’s work had a lasting impact on his approach to abstraction. His Saeta series—created between 1957 and 1959—proved pivotal in establishing his unique vision. To create the series’ distinctive long, continuous lines, he developed a technique using a surgical syringe (minus the needle) instead of a brush, inspired by watching a cook write “Happy Birthday” in icing on a cake. He produced around a hundred Saetas, and several are included in this exhibition, along with one of the actual syringes he used.

Educator and Collector

While in Manila, Zóbel also taught at Ateneo de Manila University, offering classes on the language of modern art, art appreciation, and the art of China and Japan. His fascination with East Asian art led him to collect works by artists such as Munakata Shiko, Hattori Niro, and Liu Kuo-sung. He studied Chinese painting under Chen Bing-Sun and even created calligraphic pieces of his own.

In 1960, Zóbel founded the Ateneo Art Gallery, donating works from his personal collection. It became the first museum of Philippine modern art, housing pieces by Zóbel and contemporaries including H.R. Ocampo, Vicente Manansala, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Romeo Tabuena, Ang Kiukok, and others. The museum’s first curator was Emmanuel Torres, one of Zóbel’s former students.

As an artist, teacher, advocate, and institution builder, Zóbel played a central role in shaping Philippine modernism. “He was seen both as a witness and a barometer,” notes Dr. Patrick Flores. “He was a witness to what was happening, and a barometer of what the emerging Philippine modernists aspired to.”

At Home in Madrid

Installation view of *Movement that includes its own contradiction*, *Fernando Zóbel, Order is Essential*, National Gallery Singapore, 2025

In 1961, Zóbel relocated to Madrid—a time revisited in “Movement that includes its own contradiction.” In the early 1960s, he was featured in major international exhibitions of Spanish art, including Before Picasso; After Miró at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and Modern Spanish Painting at the Tate Gallery in London. He was also part of the Spanish Pavilion at the 31st Venice Biennale.

It was during this time that Zóbel began his Serie Negra (Black Series). Restricting his palette to black and white, he used a dry brush to disperse pigment across the canvas, evoking a sense of movement and vibration. One of the works from this series, “La Visión,” was exhibited at the Venice Biennale and is included in this exhibition.

Part of Zóbel’s process involved creating abstract reinterpretations of canonical works from Western art history. He engaged in painterly “dialogues” with masters such as Juan van der Hamen, Francisco de Zurbarán, Lorenzo Lotto, Peter Paul Rubens, Edgar Degas, Adriaen Coorte, Paolo Veronese, and John Singer Sargent. He would often visit Madrid’s Prado Museum to study and make sketches of the works that fascinated him.

Final Years in Cuenca

Installation view of *The light of the painting*, *Fernando Zóbel, Order is Essential,* National Gallery Singapore, 2025

The exhibition’s final section, “The light of the painting,” focuses on Zóbel’s later years in Cuenca, a historic city near Madrid. There, his collecting interests and passion for abstraction culminated in the founding of the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español (Museum of Spanish Abstract Art). Zóbel, along with fellow artists Gustavo Torner and Gerardo Rueda, transformed the iconic Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) into a museum space. Alfred Barr, founding director of MoMA in New York, called it “the most beautiful small museum in the world.” This exhibition includes ten pieces from the museum’s collection, now overseen by Fundación Juan March.

Zóbel drew inspiration from Cuenca’s medieval architecture and natural landscape, from the cliffs and gorges to the rivers Júcar and Huécar. His La Vista (The View) and Serie Blanca (White Series) reflect a deep meditative quality, capturing the essence of his surroundings. In his Fútbol series, he turned his gaze to the dynamic movements of young men playing football, evoking their energy through fluid, blurred forms.

Reflecting on Zóbel’s abstract explorations, Dr. Flores observes: “I think he wanted to register in painting certain sensations that cannot be represented by literal figuration... this sensation of vibration and movement. He wanted to reduce elements that he thought were not essential.”

“He wanted the painting not really to be consumed as an object, but to become a memory in the viewer…not an object to be captured or mastered, but to be remembered. And he thought of this memory as a memory of qualities.”

Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential runs from 9 May to 30 November 2025 at the Wu Guanzhong Gallery and Level 4 Gallery at National Gallery Singapore and is presented in close collaboration with Fundación Juan March and the Ayala Museum.

Order is Essential

Singapore’s first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to Fernando Zóbel unveils fresh narratives about the cosmopolitan artist.

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