Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Singapore

ABOUT THE WORK

Haunting, otherworldly, surreal, the works of Jason Montinola are transportive in their depictions of a world that is straight out of a fairy tale or folklore. In this painting that is set against the dark mystery of a forest, a figure, in a black silken dress, has two heads which occupy a bell jar as warm with tentacles and flowers. On their cheeks, eyes look searchingly at the viewer. The horror is further intensified by a miniature house on the left and a cat in a child’s dress and body on the right. What particular curse has befallen them? Or are they the villains in a sinister fairy tale plot? That is the power of every Montinola work: an ability to cast a spell and generate a narrative in the viewer’s mind that allows the painting to continue long after he has seen it.