Fernando Zóbel

Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo (Manila, Philippines, August 27, 1924 - Rome, Italy, June 2, 1984) was a Filipino abstract painter.

His first exhibition took place in Boston in 1951, and he then exhibited in Manila in 1952. One of the main artistic influences of that period was Mark Rothko, as well as photography and its almost infinite possibilities. In 1955 he returned to Spain, and met the avant-garde artists of the time: Luis Feito, Antonio Lorenzo, Gerardo Rueda, Manuel Millares, Eusebio Sempere, Antonio Saura and Bonifacio Alfonso. However, he continues to live in the Philippines, where the University of Santo Tomas in Manila grants him an honorary doctorate. He also teaches art classes at the Ateneo de Manila University.

His works are part of the collections of important museums around the world. He participated in more than 150 group exhibitions, and more than 40 individual exhibitions. In 1960 he founded the Ateneo Art Gallery in Manila, to which he donated works of his own and those of Filipino artists.