Ian Fabro Sold at Auction Prices

Ian Fabro (b. 1993) - And You Shall Be Delivered

Ian Fabro (b. 1993) And You Shall Be Delivered 2015 pen and ink, staple wire On-the-rise Filipino contemporary artist Ian Fabro, the youngest artist to be included in the landmark survey on the Philippine Contemporary Art WASAK in Berlin and Singapore, has a special interest for the ball pen and the staple wire. In his captivating and highly expressive art, these materials are made integral; Fabro is mostly recognized for his large-scale pen-and-ink drawings with staple wires depicting anguish and torture, religious scenes and acts of martyrdom. These are all rendered with a keen selection of colors, often dark—almost nightmarish in depiction yet striking at best. He is known for reinterpreting narratives—usually age-old myths and stories, even biblical references—with such skill and persistence, producing figurative or abstract works of arresting, disquieting beauty. “I grew up in San Mateo, Rizal. It has a big influence on my work [which] can range from simple doodles of a child to a death of a loved one. These images and emotions, together with the process, lays the foundation and gives direction to each piece I create,” he said. This piece, a representation of San Miguel Archangel, the patron saint of San Miguel de Allende, was part of Ian Fabro’s Hurt Anatomies series exhibited in his 2015 first one-man show at Art Informal. The series was inspired by Spanish Baroque painters and the darkness and intensity of their works, capturing the spirit of the said era, also featured as Fabro was one of the finalists of the 2016 Ateneo Art Awards. Accompanied by celebrated Filipina poet Mookie Lacuesta’s piece titled “Severities,” Fabro gives us a dark representation in which viewers are introduced to his expressive strokes and crowded elongated forms, also bringing into recollection scenes from classic myths or Western art history, iconography, and literature. Inherent is a sense of revelation to a poignant narrative. An overwhelming event or scene becomes the focus when it comes to the University of the Philippines-educated artist’s pieces. The violence of beauty permeates in his canvases, yet the mystical qualities of his works bring viewers closer to divinity and sense of humanity, much-appreciated in the current times. In 2017, Fabro held his solo show titled “The Arrow of Time in the Heart of the Sun” at the UP Vargas Museum. A featured artist in the Art Fair Philippines 2019, he exhibited thrice in the Art Basel Hong Kong in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Estimate in USD $14000-$18200