The most expensive Filipino artwork ever sold.

MANILA -- From a starting bid of P22 million, Jose Joya’s 1959 abstract work “Space Transfiguration” was sold for P112 million Saturday at the Leon Gallery Auction in Makati. 

It set a record as the highest price ever paid for art at auction in the Philippines, according to Leon Gallery director Jaime Ponce de Leon. It also set a world record for the highest amount ever paid for Philippine modern art at auction. 

Until Saturday, Ang Kiukok’s “The Fisherman” was the most expensive painting ever sold at auction in the country, fetching P65,408,00 at Leon in June 2017. 

“Space Transfiguration” sold for P96 million at the four-hour event. There was early speculation that Phoenix Petroleum president and CEO Dennis Uy had bought the Joya, but the person who usually buys for Mr Uy said the tycoon is not really into abstracts. 

Ponce De Leon said he is not allowed to disclose the identity of the winning bidder who sent his bids via phone. 

Of the 150 lots, bidding for this particular Joya clocked in the longest at an estimated 20 minutes. 

Two other works by the National Artist were also auctioned: the 1982 “Morning Flight” sold for P1 million, up from a starting price of P400,000; and “Zen Imagery,” an acrylic collage from 1981, which had a starting bid of P4 million, sold for just P672,000 more. 

Inspired by NASA’s first attempt to reach the moon, the prized “Space Transfiguration” is believed to be Joya’s favourite and, as per the auction notes, “the one work he refused to part with.” The 60” x 70” oil on canvas work did not make it to the painter’s Venice Biennale stint in 1962 for the simple reason that it couldn’t fit the aircraft door.

Art critic Alice Guillermo once suggested that the piece marks an essential period in the evolution of Joya’s career, as it marked the beginning of his experiments towards larger works. It won a prize at the Art Association of the Philippines Annual Exhibition and Competition the year it was made, and was previously in the care of Joya’s sister, Josefa J. Baldovino.  Joya died in 1995

Auctioneer: Brian Hodgson