Romeo V. Tabuena

(Filipino, 1921–2015)

Romeo V. Tabuena was a Filipino painter and printmaker. Working with a wide range of subject matter and materials, his work primarily features figures pieced together from muted, monochromatic shapes. His aesthetic is often one inspired by Cubism, with a fractal-like geometric patterning imposed on recognizable forms. One of his most important works, a mural titled Filipiniana, was commissioned by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. In 2007. The artist was born on August 22, 1921 in Iloilo City, the Philippines and went on to live in Mexico for over 40 years. He studied architecture at the Mapúa Institute of Technology in Manila, and painting at the University of the Philippines. He also later studied at the Art Students League of New York and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. Celebrated in his home country for his artistic accomplishments, the Philippines awarded Tebuena the Presidential Merit Award. He died on October 15, 2015 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.