In this painting, a woman lying in repose floats over a stage. Meanwhile, the drawn-back curtains behind her partially reveal a monochrome landscape with a grouping of figures as moody pine trees and clouds loom off in the distance.

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.