Art-infused afternoon tea celebrates travel and leisure

IN the 1990s, Filipino artist Juvenal Sansó painted bright, textured landscapes inspired by his travels over the years. At the Writers Bar in Raffles Hotel Makati, guests can experience the colorful legacy of Mr. Sansó’s works — in the form of afternoon tea.

“Sansó at The Writers Bar,” launched at the Raffles late last week, will run until Sept. 6. It is a collaboration between the hotel’s creative culinary team and Fundacion Sansó, a private, non-profit institution that promotes the works of the Spanish-born modernist painter.

This year, the Modern and Contemporary Art Festival (MoCAF) will showcase Mr. Sansó’s works from July 28 to 30 at Fairmont Makati.

“The afternoon tea program provides sort of a unique look at our collection of his Moderno Series, which will be exhibited at the festival,” Ricky Francisco, Fundacion Sansó museum director and curator, told BusinessWorld at the July 6 launch.

Titled “The Last and the Best of Sansó’s Modernos,” the chosen works are from the painter’s third collection of art inspired by his travels in the 1960s and 1970s, which included a six-month stay in a studio in Iran.

Compared to the surreal florals from the artist’s earlier years, the Modernos reflect the breathtaking mountain ranges and sun-kissed valleys of Iran with a sharp realism.

“The colors of the landscape, the geometric art of Islam, and the bright mosaics inspired him to create all of these works,” said Mr. Francisco.

Béla Rieck, Raffles Makati’s executive chef, said the afternoon tea menu of savory and sweet canapés combines Spanish favorites like gazpacho and churros with Filipino snacks like lumpiang ubod and leche flan.

Topping off the homage to Mr. Sansó’s life and heritage is a splash of color on the desserts, in the form of edible print-outs of his artworks.

The Writers Bar will also feature vignettes of the Modernos, including a pop-up exhibition of an actual work, art plates, posters, and books about the artist. These pieces are a preview of items available at the Fundacion Sansó Museum Shop, including a limited-edition Sansó x Rega Turntable, which is a special collaboration with the UK audio brand.

Mr. Francisco said that the Modernos, exhibited in the mid-2000s to the early 2010s when Sansó was in his early 80s, are like a culmination of an artistic life well-lived.

“They’re connected to travel, leisure, and taking care of yourself. We hope the afternoon tea will allow you to experience that as well,” he said. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

For more information on the Writers Bar’s afternoon tea, go to https://www.raffles.com/makati/. For more information about Fundacion Sansó, e-mail fundacionsanso@gmail.com or follow @fundacion_sanso on Instagram, and FUNDACIONSANS0 on Facebook.