“This is, in my father’s terms, ‘painting with fabrics,’ not painting on fabrics,” says Christian Aguilar of his father’s Art Protis tapestries.
At the recent talk “Federico Aguilar Alcuaz: Artist at Large” held at The Peninsula Manila, guests gathered for an intimate conversation on the life and work of National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz. The talk was part of the hotel’s Art in Resonance program, which this month offers the rare opportunity to view three never-before-seen Art Protis tapestries by Alcuaz.
Curated by Ricky Francisco of Fundacion Sansó, this exclusive exhibit celebrates Alcuaz’s legacy alongside The Peninsula’s enduring commitment to cultural enrichment and artistic collaboration with Filipino artists.
Alcuaz (1932–2011) is widely regarded as a master artist, with a career spanning 55 years and an extensive body of work ranging from paintings in a wide variety of subjects, styles, and media, to ceramics and textiles.
For Francisco, Alcuaz was not just an artist, but also an ambassador. “He was able to show his work, which was largely inspired by his being Filipino, in Poland, Germany, Austria, and is collected in museums in Barcelona, by the Gulbenkian Foundation, in America, and the UK. He showed that the Filipino artist was at par with the artists of the world, and that we have earned the space there.”
Embodying the artist’s inventiveness and his high-contrast, boldly colored abstracts, three large-scale tapestries are now on view at the hotel lobby: Spring VIII (Abstract #84), Spring XII (Abstract #123), and Filipiny (Abstract #124).
During the talk, Alcuaz’s son Christian Aguilar recounted how, in the 1960s, his father encountered a tapestry that struck him with its unusual design. Curious, he traveled to Czechoslovakia to learn more about a process called Art Protis. Alcuaz would lay out the fleece by hand—much like a collage—before the layers were machine-pressed and stitched onto canvas to form the tapestries.
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“You have to see the fleece, the fabrics, the fibers—you have to understand, this is very special because this is, in my father’s terms, ‘painting with fabrics,’ not painting on fabrics,” Aguilar emphasized.
Francisco noted that with this exhibit at The Peninsula, Alcuaz’s story comes full circle. “He did a lot of his works—the Tres Marías, the portraits—while he was in a hotel. And now we’re exhibiting his larger works in a hotel.”
Aguilar added that The Peninsula held special meaning for his father. “The reason we are here is also because this hotel was one of his favorite hangouts,” he quipped. “The Tres Marías were his relaxation projects. They were not meant to be serious—he was intrigued by the waitresses at the hotels, in their different uniforms, and that’s why this series came out.”
Coupled with the main exhibit, Fundacion Sansó also mounted a two-day show, Homage to Alcuaz, featuring over 40 works by young and mid-career artists, including Fundacion Sansó scholars.
Aguilar also revealed that he is working on an upcoming book, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz: Salaysay, with art researcher Matthew Lopez, set for release in February 2026 under Ateneo University Press.
“We have discovered a lot from my father’s early years, as well as a writer and friend who did many of his early write-ups,” Aguilar shared.
Lopez added, “Whatever literature has been published so far on [Alcuaz], we have dispelled in this book. This will probably be the definitive monograph on the artist.”
The Art in Resonance exhibit of Alcuaz’s Art Protis tapestries runs until September 30. In The Peninsula Manila also offers a special afternoon tea menu inspired by the artist’s works. For restaurant reservations, call 8887 2888, extension 6694 or email diningpmn@peninsula.com and visit peninsula.com.
