MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), through its Visual Arts and Museum Division, has lent five pivotal works from the CCP 21st Century Art Museum (21AM) Collection to the National Gallery Singapore (NGS). This initiative reflects CCP’s continued mission to expand the global reach of Filipino art and reinforce cultural connections within Southeast Asia’s dynamic art ecosystem.
The loan coincides with Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential, the first major solo exhibition in Singapore dedicated to the transcontinental abstract artist Fernando Zóbel (1924–1984). Among the 200 artworks and archival materials showcased, five significant pieces from the CCP 21AM Collection take center stage: Painting No. 1 by National Artist Jose Joya; Portrait of Fernando Zóbel and Fernando Zóbel Lecturing on Art and a Student Listening II, both by David Cortez Medalla; Calligraphic Oracle by Manuel Rodriguez Sr.; and Ku III by Zóbel himself.
Zóbel, born in Manila to a distinguished Spanish family, was not only a painter but also a writer, academic and patron. His legacy includes the founding of modern art museums in both the Philippines and Spain. A tireless traveler and thinker, Zóbel’s art embodies a fluid dialogue between Eastern and Western aesthetics, rooted in expressionist and abstract traditions.
The exhibition’s title, Order is Essential, borrows from a guiding principle of Zóbel’s creative process -meticulous, iterative and deeply philosophical. Building on the narrative arc of previous retrospectives in Madrid (Zóbel: The Future of the Past, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2022) and Manila (Ayala Museum, 2024), this latest iteration in Singapore offers fresh insight into the artist’s transnational practice and evolving visual language.
Spanning two floors of the National Gallery, the show unfolds across five thematic sections: “Half of This Haunted Monk’s Life,” “With Every Single Refinement,” “Thin Lines Against a Field of Colour,” “Movement That Includes Its Own Contradiction,” and “The Light of the Painting.” Together, they chart the evolution of Zóbel’s artistic identity from his early figurative works and New England experiments, to his monochromatic meditations and later preoccupations with light, time, and motion.
Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential runs from May 9 to November 30, 2025, at the Wu Guanzhong Gallery and Level 4 Gallery of the National Gallery Singapore. For details, visit nationalgallery.sg. To explore the CCP 21AM Collection, head to www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.
