For students, alumni, and art historians searching for the keyword the search often leads to fragmented anecdotes, fading photographs, and a profound sense of mystery. Who was this man, and why does his name echo through the corridors of the UP College of Fine Arts (CFA)? Who Was Carl Hubay? Before diving into his UP Diliman connection, it is crucial to understand the artist. Carl Hubay (1934–2018) was a Filipino sculptor of Hungarian-American descent. Born in Shanghai to a Hungarian father and an American mother, Hubay’s multicultural upbringing informed his eclectic style. He arrived in the Philippines in the 1950s, where he would eventually study at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) before transferring his allegiance to the University of the Philippines.
When you walk through the sprawling, acacia-shaded campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), you are walking through a living museum. From the iconic Oblation to the abstract geometrics of the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, the campus breathes art. However, one name remains curiously enigmatic despite his massive contribution to the visual landscape of Quezon City: .
Hubay is often posthumously dubbed the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture," though he shared that title with contemporaries like Napoleon Abueva. However, Hubay’s distinction lay in his material philosophy. While others worked in wood or marble, Hubay was a master of . He turned the harshness of metal into lyrical, flowing forms—a stark departure from the classical realism that dominated the pre-war era. The Arrival at UPD: A Career Defining Move The phrase "Carl Hubay UPD" is inseparable from the decade of the 1960s. This was the golden age of modernism in the Philippines, and UPD was its epicenter. carl hubay upd
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Located near the College of Fine Arts (formerly the old Engineering building), The Welder is a larger-than-life sculpture of a man actively performing his craft. The figure, hunched over a piece of metal, is rendered entirely in Hubay’s signature welded steel. For students, alumni, and art historians searching for
Hubay joined the UP College of Fine Arts as a faculty member, but he was not a traditional lecturer. He was a firebrand. Colleagues recall that he often taught with a blowtorch in one hand and a welding rod in the other. He established the college’s first foundry and welding shop, dragging Filipino art education into the industrial age. In the 1960s, post-war Manila was littered with the remnants of American military bases and industrial waste. While others saw trash, Hubay saw potential. He famously scoured the salvage yards of Quezon City for discarded machine parts, gears, and sheet metal. At UPD, he taught his students that art does not have to be carved from a pristine block; it could be forged from the debris of modern life. The Defining Masterpiece: "The Welder" If you ask a UP alumnus about Carl Hubay UPD , they will almost certainly point you toward one specific piece: "The Welder" (ca. 1970s).
If you have photographs or stories of Carl Hubay from your time at UPD, contact the UP Diliman College of Fine Arts Archives. His history is waiting to be welded back together. Carl Hubay UPD (10+ times), UP Diliman, The Welder, Philippine Sculpture, College of Fine Arts, Modernism. Before diving into his UP Diliman connection, it
His teaching style was brutal by modern standards. He would force students to melt down their failed projects to reuse the metal. He despised waste. His famous quote, often repeated in the halls of the CFA, was: "If you can't weld it, you don't understand it."