The Cultural Center of the Philippines is proud to be a part of the 100 Years of Cesar Legaspi celebration. We commend the artist's family for their effort in keeping the legacy of Mang Cesar alive and for allowing it to grow and evolve with the times. The diverse array of activities slated within the year-long celebration of Legaspi's centenary brings the National Artist's works not only to the hallowed halls of cultural institutions such as the CP but also to the streets of Manila through the modern technology of billboards. The curators' choice of inviting younger artists to use the late artists' works in the creation of artworks of varied new media is also commendable in its vision of bringing Legaspi closer to the current generation of art enthusiasts that may not have been lucky enough to experience his work first hand.

The exhibition Lying in State is conceivably the first and possibly the last time that this specific array of artworks are exhibited together. We are grateful to all the institutions that partnered with us in order to facilitate the loan of artworks from their respective collections, especially to their staff that worked tirelessly in this endeavor. We are also thankful for all the private collectors that generously loaned their artworks to the CCP for the show. This project would not be possible without the help of other numerous supporters of Mang Cesar who aided in both the exhibition and in the corollary activities that situated the artist as an individual within our country's complex history.

Exhibitions such as Lying in State allows us to take a closer look into the lives of our touted artists and gives us more than artistic merit and aesthetic achievements to ponder on. With it, we are tasked to rethink our roles as citizens, public servants, parents, siblings, children and humans on our respective spiritual journeys.

Mabuhay ang artistang Pilipino!

Published in 2017 by Cultural Center of the Philippines

40 pages / Paperback