Leopoldo “Lee” Aguinaldo was born in 1933 to a prominent family that owned numerous businesses in the Philippines during and after the Second World War. Being the eldest in the family, Lee was intended to inherit theiLeopoldo “Lee” Aguinaldo was born in 1933 to a prominent family that owned numerous businesses in the Philippines during and after the Second World War. Being the eldest in the family, Lee was meant to inherit their businesses; however, he showed more interest in art and painting, much to the displeasure of his father. He was then shipped off to a boarding school in Indiana, USA to learn discipline, though he used his free time to teach himself drawing by studying and copying comic books he owned. Lee was later dismissed from the boarding school, returning to the Philippines in 1952. There he would continue his pursuit of art, eventually rising into prominence as part of the country’s pioneering modernist artists.

Initially, Aguinaldo dwelled on Abstract Expressionism, rejecting traditional art tools and took to dripping and splattering paint, taking inspiration from Jackson Pollock. He would then switch to using his palette knife, striking and grazing paint onto the canvas, creating his famous “Flick Series.” Later, he would experiment with chromatic abstraction, treating highly saturated colors across an open field, as if the painting is glowing. His works on chromatic abstraction produced his Linear series. He was also known for his Galumph series, characterized by its bright and cheerful colors. At the latter stages of his career, Aguinaldo returned to figurative studies, resulting in his Rembrandt Series, works noted for being pen-and-ink versions of the Dutch painter’s pieces.

Lee Aguialdo was part of the emerging modernist movement in Philippine art, becoming part of the so-called PAG Group of Neo-Realists, which included Vicente Manansala, Arturo Luz, Nena Saguil, and his friend Fernando Zobel. While working in his family’s business, Aguinaldo started to explore with different techniques, as well as holding exhibits in different galleries. It was this time that Aguinaldo earned his reputation in the Philippine art scene. His final exhibit was in 1992, after which his health started to decline, eventually dying of cardiac arrest on 2007.

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