Waiting for the monsoon by benedicto cabrera
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Benedicto "Bencab" Cabrera
Benedicto Cabrera took on the name “BenCab” even before the Cultural Centre of the Philippines listed him among the Thirteen Artists awardees in 1970. So, this is the name he has been known by across Asia, Europe and North America, and equally known as an illustrator, painter, portrait artist, photographer and printmaker.
Perhaps the most commercially successful of his generation of artists, BenCab has established an international reputation, earned several major art awards and exhibited around the world, including in London, New York and Macau.
BenCab returned to the Philippines in 1985 after spending over a decade in London, settling near Baguio City in Northern Luzon. With visual artist Santiago Bose, filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik and sculptor Ben Hur Villanueva, BenCab founded the fabled Baguio Arts Guild in the late ‘80s.
He has received two of the most prestigious honours in Philippine art: In 1992, he was given the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining and was named National Artist for Visual Arts in 2006.
BenCab started building th
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National Artist
Awards & Distinctions | Exhibitions | His Books | His Works
Benedicto Reyes Cabrera — or BenCab, as he is more popularly known is widely hailed as a master of contemporary Philippine art. He was born in Manila on April 10, 1942. BenCab began carving a niche for himself in Manila’s art circles shortly after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines in 1963.
A painter and printmaker, he has exhibited widely in the Philippines and in Asia, Europe, and the United States. He has won several major art awards in a career spanning four decades. In 1992, he received the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining (Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Arts).
In 2006, he was conferred the Order of National Artist for Visual Arts by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacanan Palace.
His works have been the subject of three books, Ben Cabrera: Etchings (1970-1980) by Cid Reyes; Bencab’s Rock Sessions by Eric Caruncho; and BENCAB by Alfred Yuson and Cid Reyes.
The artist lives and works in Baguio City.
Has three children: Elisa
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(b. 1942, Manila, the Philippines)
A National Artist for Visual Arts since his conferment in 2006, Ben Cabrera, or BenCab, is an icon in the Philippines. He was a pioneer in the 1970s for addressing social and political issues, and for his portrayal of Filipino identity. He is acclaimed for his draftsmanship in expressing universal human sympathies and everyday narrative drama.
In 2009, he established the BenCab Museum in his mountain home of Baguio, where he houses his personal collection of tribal art from the Cordillera highlands, as well as contemporary Philippine art.
An undergraduate of the University of the Philippines’ College of Fine Arts, BenCab was later conferred a doctorate in Humanities, honoris causa, by his alma mater in 2009. He was conferred a second honorary doctorate by the University of the Cordilleras in 2018.
A highlight of his artistic career was the yearlong celebration of BenCab 50 Creative Years in 2015, which involved retrospective exhibitions in eight museums and the publication of a 2-volume book BenCab FILIPINO ARTIST, authored by art histor
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