This piece is accompanied by a certificate
issued by the artist confirming the authenticity
of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

Marcel Antonio, the son of Filipino painters Angelito Antonio and Norma Belleza, was once touted as one of the most promising painters in Philippine contemporary art. Being one of the masters of Expressionism in the local art scene, he has created a remarkable collection of narrative and pseudo-narrative figurative paintings influenced by modernism and 1980s postmodernism. Critics have also regarded Antonio as one of the most notable contemporary Filipino painters, bestowing upon him a multitude of acclaim for his magnetic narratives in oil and acrylic. In this body of work, Antonio depicts his subjects as imbued by ennui and distress. They are portrayed as seemingly drifting in their clouds of reveries, lingering through their daydreams and fantasies. Antonio sees this as a form of escapism – an attempt to circumvent something dangerous, unpleasant, or undesirable. The misty hues accompanied by the lulling atmosphere of the painting highlight the transient characteristic of their dreams, something that can only be attained in the fascination of their minds. Antonio also touches on themes of existentialism, exploring the various facets of a human being’s position in its environment.