Spend an art-filled afternoon with the works of a maestro in one of Makati’s most elegant bars through “Sansó at The Writers Bar” — a two-month-long Afternoon Tea Program at The Writers Bar of Raffles Hotel Makati, which will run until Sept. 6.
Presented by Fundacion Sansó, a private, non-profit institution established to promote the legacy and art of Presidential Medal of Merit Awardee Juvenal Sansó, “Sansó at The Writers Bar” is an activation of “The Last and the Best of Sansó’s Modernos,”a collection of the artist’s Moderno Series. Works from this series will be exhibited at the Modern and Contemporary Art Festival (MoCAF) from July 28 to 30 at the Grand Ballroom of the Fairmont Makati, which is right next to Raffles Hotel.
Meanwhile, the afternoon tea program is curated to be a unique, art-infused experience. The Writers Bar will feature vignettes of Sansó’s works, including a pop-up exhibition of an actual Moderno work, Sansó giclees, art plates, posters, and books about the artist. To complete the experience, guests can enjoy tea with a special menu inspired by Sansó’s art, and dine by the light of the artist’s delightful Breton House Series of lamps on each of the tables.
The menu has touches of Spanish favorites like gazpacho and churro, staying true to Sanso’s heritage. Adding to those, the colorful artworks of Sanso are printed on the sweet desserts.
The magnificent beauty of a Sansó Moderno
Among the highlights of this pop-up are the “Moderno” paintings. When Sansó set up a studio in Iran in the late 1990s, he created the Moderno Series, initially inspired by his visits to the country’s breathtaking mountain ranges and sun-kissed valleys. These paintings veer towards sharp and incredibly detailed pictorial realism, in contrast to Sansó’s imagined florals and Brittany scenes of earlier years. The artist, who was an avid photographer, took many photos of the places he traveled to in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. These photographs eventually became sources of inspiration for his Moderno Series.
The Moderno works were exhibited in the mid-2000s to the early 2010s, when Sansó was in his early eighties. This series is representative of Sansó’s third wind of creativity, as the intricacy of detail, and a near-photographic clarity of lines in the works seem to be in sharp contrast to his advanced age. The Modernos are an attestation of Sanso’s skill as an artist, and are symbolic of a culmination of a life in art that is rich and well-lived.
“Sansó at The Writer’s Bar” is also a prelude to Fundacion Sansó’s participation in MoCAF 2023, and a preview of the pieces to be presented by the Fundacion Sansó Museum Shop, including an exclusive peek at the limited-edition Sansó x Rega Turntable, which is a special collaboration with the UK audio brand. The Museum Shop aims not only to be a retail store, but to be a platform for education, empowerment, and art appreciation through its curated products.
