How Justin Nuyda Is Celebrated In 'Origin Story'

Ayni Nuyda continues her father’s legacy of art and community.

There’s a yellow-and-black butterfly, found only on the slopes of Mt. Kitanglad in Bukidnon, that was named Delias nuydaorum after Justin Nuyda, the Filipino artist, who also happened to be a lepidopterist. Or maybe it was the other way around—he was a butterfly guy who was also good at painting, having received a CCP 13 Artists Award in 1972. His daughter Ayni did say that he claimed to make paintings to fund his butterfly expeditions. However you see it, Nuyda was a man of many talents, and the recent Origin Story exhibit held at the restaurant Hapag paid tribute to his early years, on what would have been his 80^th birthday.

Nuyda was a stalwart of the vaunted Saturday Group, a gathering of artists that included Cesar Legazpi, Alfredo Roces, H.R. Ocampo, all the greats of Philippine Modernism. Growing up around them profoundly shaped Ayni’s understanding of art and life. “I remember the group’s nude sketching sessions,” she recalls, “where I gained an early and deep appreciation for the human form.”

Photographed by Jason Tan

These sessions were more than just technical exercises; they were lively spaces for conversation and exchange, where everyone, including children like Ayni, was welcome. This early exposure fostered in her a mature understanding of how the human form is central to both art and the broader human experience. “This ethos of equality, which my father also embodied, allowed me to see how important it is for artists to grow together as a community.”

This ethos was on display at Origin Story, which was curated by the artist and writer Stephanie Frondoso. “The exhibit highlights a more personal nature of Justin Nuyda’s life and work,” she says. “It centers around his close friendships and interactions with many artists, as evidenced by portrait sketches made during Saturday Group sessions.”

Along one wall above the banquettes are displayed over 20 versions of Justin Nuyda, most of them sporting a very ‘70s hairstyle and glasses. For Ayni, the portrait by Cesar Legaspi’s stands out. “His portrayal of my father with butterflies symbolizes a lightness and grace that reflects the depth of their friendship,” she says. “Legaspi knew my father well, and this early work shows the tenderness that artists can communicate when painting those they are close to.”

Ayni Nuyda. Photographed by Jason Tan

Also interesting is the series by BenCab, which not only chronicles Nuyda’s aging over time but also reveals how BenCab’s style evolved. “You can see how their friendship deepened through each successive portrait, as both artists matured and changed,” Ayni says.

Her father’s relationships with his peers were as diverse as his art. Ayni shares how some, like Legaspi and Ocampo, were mentors who guided him early on, but others, like BenCab and Arturo Luz, were close friends and equals. This camaraderie takes form in a rare collaborative artwork on which a dozen artists put their individual stamp in mixed media. Among the other paintings are Nuyda’s work from 1969-1971 which already show his intellectual and focused approach to art and the formation of his own visual language. “There is a precision and intentionality that reflects this strong sense of self,” says Ayni.

Nuyda inherited his love for butterflies from his father and uncle, who were pioneering lepidopterists in the country. At 12, he was already collecting specimens, and as an adult he traveled often to Mindoro, Palawan, and northern Luzon in search of butterflies, eventually finding and naming over 100 endemic species and sub-species. The family plans to donate his collection to the Smithsonian Institute.

From Nuyda’s Search Mindscape series. Photographed by Jason Tan

Most famous is Nuyda’s “Search Mindscape” series, which can be described as abstract landscapes that explore the terrain of the mind. These introspective works have their origins in nature and his beloved butterflies. “I have my own choices of colors but a lot of times, I prefer color combinations in butterflies,” he said in a previous interview. The mindscapes undulate like gossamer wings in flight, and Nuyda’s mastery lies in his ability to capture not just their iridescence but also the unique way the colors bend and refract light.

The artist-lepidopterist also happened to be a co-owner of the Hobbit House, and it is in that legendary Malate bar where he invented the Weng-Weng, a strong cocktail made from a variety of spirits and tropical juices. “My father would serve the Weng-Weng to rowdy patrons, particularly late at night when things started to get a bit wild,” she describes. Since the bar didn’t have bouncers back then, the drink paradoxically served as a way to calm things down.

A butterfly-topped dish inspired by the flavors of Bicol, Nuyda’s hometown. Photographed by Jason Tan

Through food, drink, friends, and art, Ayni hopes to carry on her father’s legacy of generosity and openness. “Art doesn’t thrive in isolation; it grows and evolves through interaction and connection,” she says, explaining why she keeps pushing the boundaries of how and where art is experienced. Last year she collaborated with Madge Reyes on a dance film which brought Nuyda’s brushstrokes to life, giving momentum to the movement already embedded in his work.

Search Mindscape Foundation, the non-profit that Ayni runs, continues the celebration with Of Echoes and Currents, a one-day interactive and immersive art event on Oct. 26 at Green Sun. Featuring over 50 artists, musical performances, digital projections, and live painting sessions, “the idea is to break down the traditional boundaries of how art is experienced,”Ayni says. “This reflects our larger vision at Search Mindscape Foundation, which is to make art a part of everyone’s life, to show that it has the power to educate, inspire, and connect us all.”