Heroes and Losers: The Edification of Luis Lorenzana

“Lorenzana’s paintings declare that things do not have to be the way they are; that in the souls of the men and women who have been raised to the pantheon of heroes can always be found a glimmer of hope: In them we see our own capacity for greatness.” 

- Ambeth R. Ocampo

Heroes and Losers: The Edification of Luis Lorenzana presents the earliest work of this now-popular Filipino artist. Lorenzana created the 66 paintings and drawings featured in this exhibition as he struggled with his personal life, contended with a dismaying and demoralizing career in government service, and embarked on his career as a professional artist. This early work — raw, potent, and previously unseen — foreshadowed the artist’s subsequent success in East Asia and abroad.

Consulting curator Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe (VP of Global Artistic Programs and director of the Asia Society Museum in New York) and Filipina organizing curator Lisa Nakpil selected the works for the exhibition, which, after an initial showing in Manila, took place at the American University Museum in Washington, DC in 2020.

Please contact TravelingExhibitions@ArtsandArtists.org for more information.