Abdulmari de Leon Imao, Jr. (born 1968), better known by either Toym Leon Imao or Toym Imao, is a Filipino multi-media visual artist whose art is known for its commentary on Filipino social conditions, as well as for its

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

sensibilities. Among his most notable early sculptures included the Tandang Sora National Shrine in Quezon City; the Andres Bonifacio National Shrine in

Maragondon, Cavite Maragondon, officially the Municipality of Maragondon (), is a 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 bamboo crafts, Mounts Palay-Palay ...

; 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 Martial law under F ...

was widely recognized as an important commemoration of the abuses of

Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Part ...

Life and education

Imao was born in 1968 to painter-sculptor

Abdulmari Imao Abdulmari Asia Imao (14 January 1936 – 16 December 2014) was a Filipino painter and sculptor. Imao was named National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts in 2006. A Tausūg people, Tausūg, Imao is the first Moro people, Moro to receive ...

(who would later be conferred as

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

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 The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

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 admi ...

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. Founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, it is regarded as one of ...

- Rinehart School of Sculpture in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

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