There is an unforgettable line in the movie Pretty Woman, where the concierge (Hector Elizondo) tells tycoon Edward (Richard Gere), when the latter asks him to return a stunning diamond necklace worn by his date Vivian (Julia Roberts), “It must be so hard to let go of something so beautiful.”
That virulent tiny, tiny virus may have upended everything around us, with our economy blighted by recession and scorching hot inflation but the extraordinary world of art collection remains unscathed and appetite for art among the country’s billionaires, the well-heeled crowd, is as strong as ever.
Back in 2018, then president Duterte via Executive Order 58 consolidated the different guarantee funds and entities and created a new entity called the Philippine Guarantee Corp. whose portfolio the following year amounted to a staggering P216 billion.
Ronald Ventura s 7 feet by 10 feet "Blind Mechanism" was sold for over P57 million, nearly triple its starting price, while Ramon Orlina s sculpture “Mt. Makiling II” was sold for a price close to P16 million a new record for Filipino sculptures.