Details:

In this painting, a distressed figure with a hand placed on his face (either his or another’s) while a highway trails off into a desert behind him. Simultaneously, a mysterious purple triangle leaves an ominous shadow across the image as soldiers from a Medieval army painted in black-and-white approach from beneath moody clouds.
Unframed
Signed

① Artwork:

Cross Road

In this painting, a distressed figure with a hand placed on his face (either his or another’s) while a highway trails off into a desert behind him. Simultaneously, a mysterious purple triangle leaves an ominous shadow across the image as soldiers from a Medieval army painted in black-and-white approach from beneath moody clouds.

The artist's ongoing series “Double Illusions" is based on philosopher Slavoj Žižek’s notion that illusion is the true dimension of social activity. His oil paintings translate psychic structures such as nostalgia and neurosis into classically-painted illusionistic spaces via dramatic color and lighting motifs. It's a series that offers multiple meanings via philosophical, literary, and art-historical interpretations.

John Denniston II uses oil paint to improvise within modes of traditional realism. By abstracting chaotic scenes drawn from classical formulas, he offers a novel and surrealistic direction for historical painting practices. By manipulating linear perspective and color temperature, Denniston heightens the sense of discord in his narratives, which become critical takes on postindustrial society.

Specs:

36 inches
48 inches

③ Artist:

John Denniston II

John Denniston II uses oil paint to improvise within modes of traditional realism. By abstracting chaotic scenes drawn from classical formulas, he offers a novel and surrealistic direction for historical painting practices. By manipulating linear perspective and color temperature, Denniston heightens the sense of discord in his narratives, which become critical takes on postindustrial society.

John Denniston II was born in 1999 and received his BFA in painting from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY (2022).

He mounted a solo exhibition at Swivel Gallery in Brooklyn, NY (2022) and has participated in group exhibitions at Swivel Gallery (2022) and Gallery House in Brooklyn, NY (2021 and 2019).

John Denniston II:
Cross Road, 2023
Oil and acrylic on canvas
48.0 × 36.0 inches /