Vidal Alcoseba

Vidal Alcoseba, better known as “Ondo”, was born in Cebu City. Ondo is a fulltime painter. He finished High School at Cebu Institute of Technology and then took up Fine Arts at U.P. Cebu as a special student. He is based, along with his brother, Tony Alcoseba, who is also an artist, in Guadalupe Village, Punta Princesa, Cebu City. Like most artists who belonged to the hippie generation, Ondo became a true bohemian as he studied fine arts in UP Cebu, where he became a student of the late Martino Abellana. Ondo now only has fond recollections of the Cebuano master, whom he describes as “a full person”. Full of ideas is probably an understatement, noting the sense of awe Ondo had for his teacher. Yet it’s hard to detect the influence of Abellana on Ondo’s works. The late Maestro was more known for his “Amorsoloesque” landscapes and portraits while Ondo presents us with a series of abstractions. Still, Ondo recalls his endless conversations about Picasso with the master during his visits to him in Carcar. One could see hints of Picasso in Ondo’s skillful use of Cubist techniques, his affinity for collage, use of texts, and simulated textures. The vignettes of a place and all the intimate memories that go with them are all transformed into an explosion of colors, contrasting lines, and overlapping textures that bring us back to Picasso’s own pioneering cubist painting of prostitutes in a red light district in Barcelona,”Les Demoiselles d Avignon”. Whether intended or not, Ondo has made his own tribute to Picasso, whom he
learned to love, perhaps through another mentor, Martino Abellana. In this sense, many of his works pays tribute to the two masters.