1964 / Oil on canvas with assemblage / 147 x 198 centimetres / Artist: Marciano Galang / Ateneo Art Gallery collection

Although Galang is better known for his hard-edge minimal and conceptual works that he collectively calls “abstract painting,” Cavite, which he did when he was only 19, is a first of its genre in the local art scene. A simple beige, almost chromeless painting on a torn canvas, stitched, impastoed, and assemblaged with derelicts such as a lost shoe and a discarded tin can, was unparalleled during its time. Galang’s use of space, sparseness of presences, and an apparent attitude toward art as objecthood make this a minimalist work. There is no better way to appreciate this work than through Galang’s own words: “It is not a question of making art good for a time, for some time, or for all times. Nor is it a matter of artmaking at all but of thinking and seeing art where none exists” (1964). “True art has no value other than being a reflection of man’s relationship with the unknown. It has no meaning other than a consciousness of being in the dark where one’s perception of art is proof of the vastness which we are clearly a part of” (1967).