Jon Jaylo’s “A Song for Alice” at Sotheby’s Auction, with my description for Sotheby's Catalogue

A Song for Alice, oil on Canvas by Jon Jaylo

Below is my brief review of Jon Jaylo’s painting “A Song for Alice,” which was published in the Sotheby's Catalogue.

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JON JAYLO’S “A SONG FOR ALICE”

Jon Jaylo's “A Song for Alice” is an allusion to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in wonderland, sans Alice, which is substituted by a young mustached boy wearing a 19th century top hat, gleefully singing toward the audience or to Alice, for that matter.

Nestled on the boy's hat are the four human figures with animal heads: a frog with trumpet, a rabbit with clarinet, a red–headed bird with saxophone, and a cat with guitar: an ensemble of unlikely musicians accompanying the boy's musical feat. The backdrop is laden with theatrical elements – the nocturnal scene, the rolled scarlet curtains, the silhouettes of foliage, the dartboard circles, the golden landscapes with still flowing stream, the horizontal railing, and the checkered floor – creating an illusion of space beyond the canvas.

Looking at the painting with its evocative title "A Song for Alice," one cannot help but entertain the thought behind that 1865 controversial and classic novel, which the literary critics dubiously linked to the shadowy persona of Lewis Carroll as a literary writer and mathematician. The author was described to have proclivity in the company and friendship with children rather than the complicated adult relationship.

Who is Alice in Lewis Carroll's life, the real eleven-year old girl Alice Liddell from which he derived the title of his fairy tale story? The same question can also be asked: Who is Alice in Jon Jaylo's life and what role does she play in this particular painting?

Although the pictorial narrative of histrionic characters does not suggest any obtrusive reference to the adventure of Alice in Wonderland, the boy in the painting represents 'Alice' with a naiveté presence whose dazzling eyes is full of innocence, wonder, and imagination. Evidently, through the boy's 'expressive' countenance, one can take a glimpse on the artist's penchant for childhood fantasy and dreamlike portrayal of images not only in this particular painting, but also in his previous works.

Jaylo's oeuvre, in general, recurrently depicts a magical world, which is bereft of complications, where logic and reason is almost absent, where the distinction between the real world and fantasy is obscured by mystical reality. It is a world that the artist lost in his boyhood but found later in his aesthetics, detached from the convolutions of human existence, where he can be a child again without anguish or sorrow. Call it an 'Alice's World Syndrome,' a created reality from the child's perspective that characterizes innocence, enchantment, adventure, and wonder.

In the end, the artist is asking the same question: Who is Alice in our individual lives?

© Danny Castillones Sillada

"Indecision" by a Filipino surrealist painter JON JAYLO

A British politician, Aneurin Bevan (1897 - 1960), once said on indecision: “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down.”

In this picture, the artist allegorically illustrates “indecision” as opposing forces by using the imagery of a three-wheeled bicycle with two faceless men sitting back to back pedalling in opposite directions.

A satire and a metaphorical quest for truth depict, not only the psychological conflict within, but apt amid the political crisis of our country (Philippines) and the conflicting personal interests among our political leaders.

The contrasting colors and the subtlety of symbolic elements make this painting so appealing to the mind and senses, addressing an urgent universal message on shared vision, concern and unity in our politically-troubled society.

Using a water mixable oil paint, the artist has achieved an elegant style of pictorial composition with the classic appeal of a master’s touch.

© Danny C. Sillada
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Artwork: "Indecision" by a Filipino surrealist painter Jon Jaylo.

Artist's Site: http://back2basic.multiply.com/

“Yakap” (Embrace) by a Filipina-Chinese painter JANICE LIUSON-YOUNG

There is something celestial in the portrayal of “Yakap” (Embrace), something invincible that only an experienced mother could depict such sensitive and warm ambiance of mother and child bonding.

Securely nestled at her mother’s arms, the child seems to be relishing that timeless moment of warmth and comfort. While the mother, dressed in a traditional Filipino costume, tenderly feels the fragile presence of her child as though she is listening to the incessant beatings of their hearts.

Using an acrylic paint as a medium, the fluidity of thin brushstrokes is conspicuous on the surface of the canvas, thus, giving the artist a free rein to achieve a placid texture on his subjects.

And if one would take a closer look at the artwork, a yin-yang element is likewise noticeable in the rendition of tonal values. The lighter portion at the left side of the painting signifies “yin” (white) while the darker portion at the right side signifies “yang” (black).

Here, the artist, consciously or unconsciously, fashioned a powerful interplay of elemental energies that gives life and drama to the mother and child interaction.

As a Filipino symbolic image for motherhood, the mother and child painting gives the viewer a fresher look from the woman’s point of view, as the artist proficiently created mood and feelings in the final touch of her delicate composition.

© Danny C. Sillada
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Artwork: “Yakap” (Embrace), acrylic on canvas by a Filipina-Chinese painter Janice Liuson-Young.

Artist’s Site: http://janiceliusonyoung.multiply.com/

"Dog Show" by a Filipino painter CJ Tañedo

Perhaps, the closest and loyal among the domestic animals to human beings are dogs. There are heroic stories between man and dog; they are heart-warming stories of loyalty and friendship.

In this painting, however, the artist uses the imagery of dog to portray a bleak yet comical socio-political reality in our society.

Political leaders are like dogs as though they knew nothing but to squabble and bark at each other. And when a political scandal or controversy erupts, they utilize the mass media to stage their “dog show” and cover up their ineptitude before the very eyes of their respective constituents.

The artist redefines the current political situation through a compelling image of half-dog and half-human portrait, an unscrupulous persona, which is hauntingly residing in the politicians’ psyche and sub-culture.

Ironically, dogs are more sensible and loyal to human beings than the political leaders who used and abused their political power for their own advantage instead of the common good of the people.

© Danny C. Sillada
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Artwork: “Dog Show” by a Filipino painter CJ Tañedo.

Artist's Site: http://cjtanedo.multiply.com/