BENEDICTO "BENCAB" CABRERA (B. 1942)
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Benedicto Cabrera, best known as BenCab, was born to a large family in Malabon, Philippines on April 10, 1942. He was the youngest of nine children. Cabrera was first mentored by his older brother, Salvador, an already establish artist. BenCab practiced drawing by copying American comic books, and at the age of 12 won a 100 peso prize in a poster competition promoting human rights. Cabrera went on to major in illustration at the University of the Philippines. He worked closely with Professor Jose Joya; helping design and install stage sets. Cabrera completed his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in 1963 with a thorough knowledge of photography, printmaking, and painting.
BenCab met British writer, Caroline Kennedy in Manila in 1966, and married her in London in 1969. They decided to settle down in London and had 3 children together: Elisar, Mayumi, and Jasmine. BenCab’s first years as a painter in London were not particularly easy, but his talents were immediately recognized as he held his first exhibition, receiving commercial success with paintings selling to notables including actress Glenda Jackson and director John Slessinger. In response to the political abuses of the Marcos era, specifically Martial Law, Cabrera witnessed in a brief return to the Philippines from 1972 to 1974, BenCab began to passionately create artwork that commented on social and political topics of oppression and freedom.
Cabrera returned to the Philippines in 1985, after his divorce from Caroline, and established his studio on a small farm near Tuba, Benguet. Working alongside a community of artists, he began to explore and work with the medium of handmade paper. For the past two decades, he has been actively exhibiting in Europe and Asia receiving many accolades, including Gawar CCP Para sa Sining (Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Arts) in 1992. In 2006, BenCab was honored by the Philippine government as a National Artist for the Visual Arts. In 2009, the University of the Philippines conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of the Humanities.
Some Affiliated Schools, Galleries and Museums:
University of the Philippines
Asian Collection, Tokyo, Japan, 2008-2009
Andrewshire, Los Angeles, Califorina, USA, 2009
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore 2009-2010
Fisher Museum of Art, University of Southern California, USA, 2014
Awards and Honors:
Gawar CCP Para sa Sining (Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Arts), 1992
Philippine National Artist, 2006
Honorary Doctorate of the Humanities, University of the Philippines, 2009
Selected Works:
Madonna with Object, 1991
Studies of Sabel, dyptych, 1991
People Waiting, 1989
The Indifference, 1988
Waiting for the Monsoon, 1986
Publications:
Ben Cabrera: Etchings (1970–1980) by Cid Reyes
Bencab’s Rock Sessions by Eric Caruncho
BENCAB by Alfred Yuson and Cid Reyes
BenCab: Nude Drawings by Alfred Yuson
BenCab Portraits by Ambeth R. Ocampo
BenCab met British writer, Caroline Kennedy in Manila in 1966, and married her in London in 1969. They decided to settle down in London and had 3 children together: Elisar, Mayumi, and Jasmine. BenCab’s first years as a painter in London were not particularly easy, but his talents were immediately recognized as he held his first exhibition, receiving commercial success with paintings selling to notables including actress Glenda Jackson and director John Slessinger. In response to the political abuses of the Marcos era, specifically Martial Law, Cabrera witnessed in a brief return to the Philippines from 1972 to 1974, BenCab began to passionately create artwork that commented on social and political topics of oppression and freedom.
Cabrera returned to the Philippines in 1985, after his divorce from Caroline, and established his studio on a small farm near Tuba, Benguet. Working alongside a community of artists, he began to explore and work with the medium of handmade paper. For the past two decades, he has been actively exhibiting in Europe and Asia receiving many accolades, including Gawar CCP Para sa Sining (Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Arts) in 1992. In 2006, BenCab was honored by the Philippine government as a National Artist for the Visual Arts. In 2009, the University of the Philippines conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of the Humanities.
Some Affiliated Schools, Galleries and Museums:
University of the Philippines
Asian Collection, Tokyo, Japan, 2008-2009
Andrewshire, Los Angeles, Califorina, USA, 2009
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore 2009-2010
Fisher Museum of Art, University of Southern California, USA, 2014
Awards and Honors:
Gawar CCP Para sa Sining (Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Arts), 1992
Philippine National Artist, 2006
Honorary Doctorate of the Humanities, University of the Philippines, 2009
Selected Works:
Madonna with Object, 1991
Studies of Sabel, dyptych, 1991
People Waiting, 1989
The Indifference, 1988
Waiting for the Monsoon, 1986
Publications:
Ben Cabrera: Etchings (1970–1980) by Cid Reyes
Bencab’s Rock Sessions by Eric Caruncho
BENCAB by Alfred Yuson and Cid Reyes
BenCab: Nude Drawings by Alfred Yuson
BenCab Portraits by Ambeth R. Ocampo
