ABOUT THE WORK

Identity (and its absence) is a recurring subject matter in exciting contemporary artist Jason Montinola’s works. His portraits feature missing or obstructed faces, masked figures sporting caps and headdresses, even shadows and the void in replacement of the face. Montinola’s renditions of either anonymity or absence are noted as more tied to nonexistence of an identity instead of just a lack of presence. This piece is one of his portraits of peculiar figures critical of the level of significance given to affixed characteristics and neat identities in the art-making process of depicting subjects. Missing facial features serve as a form of invisibility, hindering familiarity.