'Ateneo art awards: The Embassy of Italy purchase prize'

IN 2018, to further promote Filipino contemporary art, the Embassy of Italy signed an agreement with Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) as the new program partner for the "Ateneo art awards: Fernando Zobel prizes for visual arts" by sponsoring a purchase prize. In accordance with this, the Embassy acquired one of the artworks of the artist winner of the "Ateneo art awards: The Embassy of Italy purchase prize," chosen among the 12 shortlisted artists, selected by the Ateneo art award panel of jurists. Luis Antonio Santos was the recipient for the 2023 Embassy of Italy purchase prize.The painting, selected to be part of the Embassy's collection of Philippine contemporary art, was part of the "Threshold" series, composed of images of draperies.The talent of the artist was impressive as he was able to recapture the likenesses of draperies in oil paint, carefully rendering the creases and folds from images of black cloth and plastic bags stretched over canvases and then photographed. Maria Victoria "Boots" Herrera, director and chief curator of the Ateneo Art Gallery, also joined the occasion of the turnover of the painting ceremony of Santos at the Embassy of Italy's premises in the presence of Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Marco Clemente.This significant moment served as a recognition of the importance of the award program in the Philippine contemporary art scene and an occasion of pride for local artists as their artwork was showcased within the esteemed spaces of the Italian Embassy.