He held his first solo exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Gallery in several prizes at the AAP such as First Prize for “The Bird” in 1959, and second Prize for “Geometric Still-life Fish” in 1963. In 1976, the City of Manila awarded him the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan. He pioneered expressionism in Philippine painting. His prodigious output synthesizes intense human expression of a universal mode and cubistic pictorial excellence. The human condition at its apex of pain or anger has always inspired him. He breaks down and recomposes human, animal, and machine forms to create disturbing images of torture, suffering, cruelty, and dehumanization.
