Abdulmari de Leon Imao, Jr. (born 1968), better known by either Toym Leon Imao or Toym Imao, is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

multi-media visual artist whose art is known for its commentary on Filipino social conditions, as well as for its

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...

sensibilities. Among his most notable early sculptures included the

Tandang Sora National Shrine The Tandang Sora National Shrine (Filipino: ''Dambana ni Melchora (Tandang Sora) Aquino'') is a national monument and memorial park in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is dedicated to Filipino revolutionary and centenarian, Melchora A ...

in Quezon City; the Andres Bonifacio National Shrine in

Maragondon, Cavite Maragondon, officially the Municipality of Maragondon ( tgl, Bayan ng Maragondon), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 40,687 people. The town is famous for its ...

; the Dr. Jose P. Rizal statue in Carson City, California. In 2015, his exhibition "Desaparecidos" at the

Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of fo ...

was widely recognized as an important commemoration of the abuses of

Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last ...

Life and education

Imao was born in 1968 to painter-sculptor Abdulmari Imao (who would later be conferred as

National Artist of the Philippines The Order of National Artists of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an order bestowed by the Philippines on Filipinos who have made significant contributions to the development of Philipp ...

for Visual Arts) and art collector Grace de Leon. He was nicknamed Toym by his father commemorating his earlier achievement as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

in 1999, and have attained his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

in Sculpture from the

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...

- Rinehart School of Sculpture in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

in 2012.

References

External links

* 1968 births 20th-century Filipino sculptors 21st-century Filipino sculptors 20th-century Filipino painters 21st-century Filipino painters Imao, Toym Imao, Toym Artists featured at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Living people {{Philippines-artist-stub