Leeroy New’s Flame chair beside Carlo Magno’s acrylic on canvas, Forest Trails (estimate P200,000-P250,000); in the foreground, a four-piece Ambassador set c. 1930s, Arturo Luz’s steel sculpture, Solo Performer, edition 100/100 (estimate P180,000-P200,000), cowhide rug (estimate P10,000-P12,000)
Today’s style arbiters seem to favor the '70s look, which is predicted to be 2023’s big trend. The era straddles the hippie look (popularized by Ali McGraw’s standard center-parted long locks, and printed maxi dresses) as well as its suave and elegant side as immortalized by icons Gianni Agnelli, Bianca Jagger, Sophia Loren (with her larger than life sunglasses) and Steve McQueen, to name a few.
The music world of that time hatched some of the most celebrated style-setters, like cross-dressing pioneer David Bowie, glam-rock purveyor Mick Jagger, who along with Elton John detonated their own version of a more flamboyant, culture-bending 70s dress code. And who can forget the funk fervor (and massive fros) of Diana Ross, Quentin Tarantino muse, Pam Grier, the Jackson 5, and Jimi Hendrix?
Not surprisingly, the interior style of the '70s is on the cusp of a great revival, with bohemian touches (think Persian carpets, animal skins and macrame accents) and flashy glamor (chrome and leather, patterned wallpaper) rising in popularity.
These icons all swanned and strutted in their kaftans and bohemian maxi dresses, thigh-high boots, sequined shifts, tight jackets, flared slacks, cat suits to express what has been collectively celebrated as the iconic 70s style. But what they probably all had in their closets though, was a pair of blue denim jeans.
Gavel&Block’s Art+Design May edition pays homage to the fabric that defined an era, with art, antiques and other collectible objects set against blue—the perfect, cooling hue for the summer heat, to evoke the laid back mood and free spirit of the '70s.
Left, on white wall: Jon Jaylo’s oil on canvas, Strength (estimate P280,000-P300,000), above Michael Cacnio’s sculptures, Bird Vendor (estimate P400,000-P450,000) and Kiteflier (estimate P450,000-P500,000), and a dinemonyo altar table (estimate P900,000-P950,000). On the blue wall: An untitled print by BenCab (edition 21/24, estimate P15,000-18,000) beside Reynard Borillo’s untitled oil painting of a Japanese woman (estimate P14,000-P16,000). In the foreground: A blue and white jar (estimate P10,000-P15,000) and a modern chair with Marilyn Monroe print on a cowhide rug (estimate P10,000-P12,000)
Part of a 32-piece lot of Qing and Ming Dynasty blue and white plates and bowls (estimate P30,000-P35,000) set against a a circa 70s Persian Zanjan rug from Iran (estimate P35,000-P37,000)
Left to right: Carte de Isles Philippines, map of the Northern part of the Philippines (estimate P7,000-P9,000); Élisée Reclus C. Perron (after Centeno), Taal et Lac Bombon, Librairie Hachette & Cie., 1889 print, (estimate P2,000-P3,000); The East Indies Isles, c. 1832, copperplate print (estimate P2,000-P3,000)
Jim Orencio’s acrylic on canvas, Noon Break (estimate P100,000-P120,000); vintage architectural coin banks for (left to right) Prudential Bank and Trust Co., Phil. National Cooperative Bank, People’s Bank and Trust Co., Continental Bank Manila (estimates at P3.500-P4,500 each); marble and brass nymph console table (estimate P20,000-P30,000)
Left to right: Birthing chair by Osmundo Esguerra (estimate P15,000-P17,000); Don Salubaybay’s mixed media, We Want You and Everything Else, (estimate P120,000-P140,000); brown glazed stoneware (estimate P10,000-P15,000); metal and burl wood side table, Osmundo Esguerra (estimate P25,000-P35,000); a trio of santos, including a de tallado Sto. Niño de Cebu, 19th century, Panay (estimate P7,000-P9,000); on the blue wall, a lithograph print, Orilla Gris, edition 221/460, by Fernando Zobel (estimate P50,000-P60,000)
On blue wall, (top) Mauro Malang Santos’ Plants, gouache dated 1984 (estimate P280,000-P300,000), (bottom) Romulo Olazo’s untitled oil on canvas landscape (estimate P100,000-P120,000); on white wall, Nena Saguil’s untitled mixed media on canvas (estimate P400,000-P440,000); atop a marble top table, (estimate P15,000- P19,000 ), a de tallado bulto 19th century San Roque (estimate P35,000-P40,000), from Bulacan and a de tallado Theotokos, 19th century, from Panay (estimate P5,000-P7,000); pair of inlaid arts & crafts tub chairs (estimate P10,000-P12,000)
Mauro Malang Santos’ Mother and Child, oil on canvas (estimate P1,100,000-P1,200,000)
The gavel&block art+design: big, bold, blue online auction takes place on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 11 a.m. View the online catalogue and register here: bit.ly/GB_art-design-May2023
Visit the in-person preview at Salcedo Auctions, NEX Tower, 6786 Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Preview begins on Thursday, 27 April, and will run until Friday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Sunday and Monday.
Words by Devi De Veyra