Material Inspirations looks at the art and lives of two of the country’s pioneering women artists: Anita Magsaysay-Ho and Nena Saguil.

Words Mara Fabella
January 13, 2025

There’s a spark in art critic Cid Reyes’s eyes as he talks about his work. Having dedicated years of his life to art, Reyes has interviewed many artists throughout his career, delving into each of their own unique and eccentric inner worlds. Yet he highlights one central question that remains to be answered: Why do artists do what they do? Why dedicate so much time to expressing a visual language both so precise, yet so indecipherable at the same time? There are many artists whose works elicit this question. Reflecting on this, Reyes considers the dynamic and resounding works of two of the country’s most formative female artists: Anita Magsaysay-Ho and Nena Saguil.

Material Inspirations brings together the works of these two trailblazing artists in Filipino art history and examines their lives and art. The exhibit presents photos and archival texts that highlight the impact of these women “in spite of an art world...steered by masters and patriarchs,” in the words of curator Patrick Flores. Among these biographical snapshots are excerpts from Reyes’s seminal text Conversations on Philippine Art (1989). Displayed are pages from his interviews with Magsaysay-Ho and Saguil. Central to the show are the artists’ own unique material sensibilities: Magsaysay-Ho with luminous egg tempera, and Saguil and her hypnotic pen and ink. Flores invites viewers to observe the way life and artmaking can be delicately interwoven.

In the pantheon of Philippine art, Magsaysay-Ho and Saguil occupy distinct roles, especially for female artists. Magsaysay-Ho is the only female member of the Thirteen Moderns, the thirteen pioneers of modern art in the Philippines. Saguil is considered one of the first abstractionists in the country. The exhibit highlights the way these two artists, friends and classmates from the UP College of Fine Arts, ended up taking drastically different paths in life yet still built prolific bodies of work.

Discussing this exhibit, Reyes recalls a “delicacy” about Anita Magsaysay-Ho. She was ladylike in the way she carried herself, both in life and through her art. Her art depicted women in scenes of rural domesticity: farming, selling wares, catching fish, or cooking food. One might immediately compare her work to Amorsolo’s, yet Magsaysay-Ho never wanted to paint like him. Rather than idealism, her works evoke a more natural energy—one that suggests a perspective that truly recognizes its subjects. The show highlights a quote by the artist: “I know very well the strength, hard work, and quiet dignity of Philippine women, for I am one of them.”

Magsaysay-Ho had a traditional family life. She was a housewife and dutiful mother. Yet whenever she had time alone, she would work on her art. Her women are similarly active agents in their own narrative rather than its mere face. On display in the exhibit is “Mga Tagapagluto” (1952), one of several works where she notably emphasizes the eyes of her figures, bringing their expressions to life. Magsaysay-Ho was very much influenced by her classical education, yet her sensibilities were very much modern, and at the time, truly innovative.