The National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Cultural Center of the Philippines will pay tribute to Napoleon V. Abueva, National Artist for Sculpture in a necrological ceremony on Saturday, February 24, 2018, at 9:00 am at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater), Cultural Center of the Philippines. Interment will follow at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Abueva passed away on February 16, 2018, at the age of 88.

Born on January 26, 1930, Napoleon Abueva was known as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture, being adept in either academic representational style or modern abstract, utilizing almost all kinds of materials. Among the early innovations, Abueva introduced in 1951 was that he referred to as “buoyant sculpture” – sculpture meant to be appreciated from the surface of a placid pool. His major works include Kaganapan, Kiss of Judas, Thirty Pieces of Silver, The Transfiguration, UP Gateway, Nine Muses, Sunburst, Pitong Diwata at the UP Faculty Center, and The National Heroes Shrine at Mt. Samat, Bataan.