Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

          Making the familiar unfamiliar — in the spirit of Balthus and  the unconscious awkwardness of the more eccentric of  Quattrocento painters — Marcel Antonio uses much departure from conventional grace to emphasize disconcerting irrationality of human behavior.  Antonio was interested in the structural relationship between groups of bodies and their integration with the landscape.
          The figures remained like actors on a surreal stage.  The  inclusion of such storybook motifs such as birdmen, fruits  and an exploding volcano shows that Antonio had moved away from purely representational themes and was prepared to include off-kilter storytelling touches to his work.