Romeo Villalva Tabuena (August 22, 1921 – October 15, 2015) was a Filipino painter and printmaker who was born in

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

. He studied architecture at the Mapúa Institute of Technology in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and painting at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

. He also studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris.

Career

In 1955, Tabuena arrived in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to study at the Instituto Allende. He remained a resident of the town for the rest of his life, where he lived with his Norwegian wife Nina. However, he retained his Philippine citizenship. He painted the mural ''Filipiniana'' in the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. In 1965, he participated in the Eighth São Paulo Art Biennial as the official Filipino artist and as the art commissioner from the Philippines. The

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

holds his painting ''Carabao'', which is typical of the artist's animal paintings.

Works

Tabuena is listed in ''Who's Who in American Art'', ''International Who's Who in Art'', and ''International Who's Who of Intellectuals''. He also appears on ''History of International Art-Italy'', ''History of Contemporary Art-Italy'', and on the ''International Book of Honor'', America's Biographic Institute. He is included in ''5000 Personalities of the World'', Cambridge, England. His major works include, to name a few: Art Expo in New York City; One-man show in Gallerie Bleue in Manila, Philippines one-man show at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City; participation in the VII Biennial São Paulo as the official Filipino artist and art commissioner from the Philippines, and in Galeria Tere Haas in Mexico City;

Institute of Fine Arts An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; and 10-year Retrospective Show at the Philippine Art Gallery with Publishing of Illustrative Monographs appraising his work of that period.

Awards and recognitions

In October 1995, he was honored with a major exhibit sponsored by the Instituto de Bellas Artes, Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante for his 40 years of residency and dedication in the artistic life of Mexico in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. A similar exhibit in his honor was launched in November 1996 in Mexico in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy. One of his major works after 1957 was a government commissioned mural, Filipiniaa, exhibited at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. He was also involved in the exhibit El Nigromante of the Mexican Institute of Fine Arts in celebration of 30 years of artistic life in Mexico. He is the recipient of various awards and citations, including the Golden Centaur Award from the Accademia Italia, Master of Painting honoris cause from the International Seminar of Modern Art, Bannierre Europeanne des Artes, and Medaglia al Merito from the International Parliament.

References

* Arguilla, Lyd., ''Tabuena'', Manila, Philippine Art Gallery, 1960. * Arguilla, Manuel Estabillo and Lyd Arguilla, ''Philippine Tales and Fables'', Juan Tamad stories illus. by Romeo V. Tabuena, Manila, Capitol Pub. House, 1957. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabuena, Romeo Villalva 1921 births 2015 deaths Filipino painters 20th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters 21st-century Mexican painters University of the Philippines alumni Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Instituto Allende alumni People from Iloilo City Artists from Iloilo Filipino emigrants to Mexico Mapúa University alumni Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines) Visayan people Filipino expatriates in the United States Filipino expatriates in France 20th-century Mexican male artists 21st-century Mexican male artists