Provenance: Private Collection, HongKong Christies, Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, HongKong, November 6, 2006, Lot 20.

ABOUT THE WORK

The works of renowned contemporary artist Jose John Santos III are marked by a the use of seemingly unrelated familiar subjects and objects that result in new meanings, challenging the viewers’ assumptions and perceptions on reality. With exhibited juxtapositions between painting and photography as well as the old and the new, these pieces are praised for its narrative quality brought about by Santos’ distinct visual language and personal artistic sensibilities. Since his student years at the University of the Philippines, the sought-after artist was drawn to the works of Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg, photographer Joyce Tenesson, known Surrealists, and American Pop artists who paid attention to the mundane and the worldly with boldness. It is important to note, however, that the images present in Santos’ works are drawn from everyday reality instead of the subconscious, translated through a surrealist bent as well as a reflective approach. Hence, these appear as creations out of private musings on his immediate surroundings, and nonetheless, the alluring surrealism apparent in his pieces is noted to tap into the viewers’ subconscious. This featured early piece, The Game, shows the style he developed during the 2000s—as influenced by the Antipolo-based artist group Salingpusa—that involves fine draftsmanship of elegant, clean lines, mysterious sense of iconography, and structurally technical figuration. A combination of surrealist technique and artistic intent or perspective through assemblages of familiar images is displayed. Here, Santos incorporates more graphic elements suggestive of narrative and achieves a sense of flatness and tonal depictions of mass. Thought-provoking in a profound sense, the artist leaves the interpretation to the viewer regarding the game or the gamble the man is about to participate in, hinting perspective through objects like the dice which serve as allusions or signifiers to meaning.