Araceli Dans has passed away

The painter and Presidential Medal of Merit Awardee Araceli Limcaco Dans has passed away on Saturday. She was 94.

Her granddaughter Gabriela Lee confirmed the news to GMA News Online on Facebook Messenger, saying "Lola has passed away."  

Meanwhile, his son Benjo took to Facebook to write a short but heartfelt tribute. "Early on Saturday morning, my mom finally earned her angel wings and passed away. She leaves a void in our hearts that are also overflowing with so much love," he said.

After thanking the artist for her "beautiful light," Benjo acknowledged the deep heartbreak over his mom's death.

"It is true that our collective hearts have broken into a thousand pieces over you, but we don't want to feel any other way because it is such a small price for the experience of your love. I welcome the tears for they are the prisms that will bring rainbows to our hearts," Benjo said.

His wife Margaret likewise wrote a sincere thanks to Dans "for raising the man of my dreams and for being the reason why I am married to Benjo."

"I promise to always love, support and take care of him. You are now our Angel from above. We love you," she said before signing it as "from your extremely grateful daughter-in-law."

Known for her intricate calado embroidery paintings, Dans was mentored by National Artist for the Arts Fernando Amorsolo.

In its social media tribute, Leon Gallery said Dans "had a unique affinity for capturing the human soul."

"Her diverse personal experiences, from her vibrant upbringing to her encounters during the Second World War, imbued her works with deep emotions such as nostalgia, love, longing, and loss," Leon Gallery added.

"Her effervescent style tugs at the heartstrings, silently narrating an ode that can melt even the hardest hearts," the gallery continued.

"Araceli's art and practice will undoubtedly be remembered as undeniably and quintessentially Filipino," Leon Gallery said.

Meanwhile, Fundacion Sanso called Dans "a pioneering art educator" having "co-founded the Philippine Art Educators Association with Brenda Fajardo in 1968."

"'Cheloy' as many called her, was also a classmate and good friend of Juvenal Sansó at the UP School of Fine Arts," it added. "We extend our condolences and prayers to her family and friends."

Dans' art and story was depicted in the prize-winning story, "Cely's Crocodile," by Gabriela. 

It was published as a children's book in 2020 by Tahanan Books, which describes "Cely's Crocodile" as a story that "seamlessly braids art and history as the author recounts her grandmother’s contributions to the wartime efforts of Filipinos during World War II."

Illustrated by Adrian Panadero, the book "evokes a war-torn era in which Cely discovers that her destiny—as well as her family’s survival—lie in the very art that’s given her new eyes with which to see and reimagine the world around her."

— LA, GMA Integrated News