Famous Filipino Artists: Hernando R. Ocampo (April 18, 1911 – December 28, 1978) is a Filipino National Artist in the visual arts. He is also fictionist, a playwright and editor.
Hernando Ruiz Ocampo was a leading radical modernist artist in the Philippines. He was a member of the Saturday Group of artists (also known as the Taza de Oro Group), and was one of the pre-war Thirteen Moderns, a group of modernist artists founded by Victorino C. Edades in 1938. Famously known for his triumvirate of with neo-realists Vicente S. Manansala and Cesar Legaspi, his works reflected the harsh realities of his country after the Second World War. However, many of his works depicted lush sceneries and the beautiful Philippine landscapes through his skillful use of fierce and bold colors.
H. R. Ocampo was credited for inventing a new mode of abstraction that exemplifies Philippine flora and fauna, and portrays sunshine, stars and rain. Using movement and bold colors, Ocampo utilized fantasy and science fiction as the basis for his works. His art is described to be "abstract compositions of biological forms that seemed to oscillate, quiver, inflame and multiply" like mutations. His A Wiping (1974, oil on canvas, 30 inches x 40 inches) is a flat rendition of a style that Ocampo himself revealed to be a representation of "visual melody".