The man stares at the viewer while juggling, a mysterious window on his top hat may open into the unknown. Jose John Santos’ visual platform is that of a hyper (sur)realist, but it is based on a distillation of subconscious reality, a formal, elevated representation of dreams and stream of consciousness. His dream world is subdued, not frantic, and his paintings radiate a controlled resentment rather than biting satire of imminent irrationality. Santos produces playful yet laconic, rational images that act as a parallel universe to the debilitating unpredictability of contemporary life Jose John Santos’ severe body profiles and erratic gestures which seem to have been derived from friezes are not present in this work, but the compositional severity and detailed technique amid his silent worlds and uneasy encounters still touch us where our minds are most vulnerable, and have a suggestion of melancholy, that melancholy being enacted.
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Jose John Santos III (b. 1970)
The Open Minded
signed and dated 2006 (lower left)
oil on canvas
24” x 20” (61 cm x 51 cm)
SOLD: PHP 2,336,000
Provenance: Private Collection, Manila
Exhibited: Boston Gallery, Phases, Quezon City, 2006