Jose John Santos III Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Jose John Santos III Art Value Price Guide

Sep. 14, 2024
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - Handyman
Est: ₱5,500,000 - ₱7,000,000
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) Signed and dated '2006' (lower left) Oil on canvas 84 x 94 cm (33 x 37 in) Jose John Santos III is a leading figure in contemporary figurative painting, recognized for his ability to craft intricate scenes that blend symbolism with narrative depth. His work often depicts carefully composed spaces, where objects and figures are arranged with deliberate precision to convey stories through subtle, meaningful gestures. His paintings, characterized by harmonious tones and muted colors, evoke a sense of quiet reflection, drawing the viewer into a world that is both intimate and profound. Through his art, Santos captures the essence of his subjects, infusing his compositions with a depth that resonates on both a personal and universal level. Santos draws inspiration from various sources, including archival and digital photographs, personal memorabilia, and everyday objects from his studio. His figures often feature faces from his immediate circle, including his own, posed in ways that evoke the serene and meaningful postures typical of religious art. His unique visual language, rich with dream-like elements, puns, and personal codes, invites diverse interpretations, offering viewers a space to engage with the work on their own terms. A graduate of the University of the Philippines, Santos was a member of the Salingpusa group during his college years. He has exhibited widely across Asia and received the CCP Thirteen Artists Award in 2000. Reference: Isabel Ching, et. al, Without Walls: A tour of Philippine paintings at the turn of the millennium, Winrum Publishing, 2010, p. 66
Salcedo Auctions
Sep. 14, 2024
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - Hide and Seek
Est: ₱800,000 - ₱1,040,000
Hide and Seek dated 2014 83 resin-coated fabric bags EXHIBITED: The Link, Hide and Seek (Presented at Art Fair Philippines 2014), Ayala Center, Makati City, 20 - 23 February 2014 Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, RE:collection: Jose Santos III (Exhibition organized by Artinformal and presented at Art Basel Hong Kong 2014), 15 - 18 May 2014 LITERATURE: Ruoh Ling, Keong, Leo Abaya, and Kenneth Tay. ²hide. Singapore: Pearl Lam Galleries, 2014. Published to accompany the exhibition of the same name at Pearl Lam Galleries in 2014-15. Full-color illustration on page 10 and artwork description on pages 10 - 11. WRITE UP Re-collecting Recollections Jose John Santos III in Art Basel Hong Kong "How do you represent what is hidden?" The question above encapsulates Jose John Santos III's monumental installation titled Hide and Seek. The work was the centerpiece of Santos' participation at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2014, in his exhibition space titled RE:collection. Composed of 83 resin-coated fabric bags and showcased to the viewers by hanging them on walls, Hide and Seek seeks inquiry into the ambiguity of the hidden, revealing in the process how various stimuli can trigger and launch a string of past memories that have been long sunken under the sea of the subliminal. The late artist and production designer Leo Abaya writes in the catalog for Santos' Art Basel participation: "The veiling renders the objects as residual, vestigial, and lingering forms. But while the gesture seems inertial, it paradoxically calls to mind the Proustian notion that appearances conceal the true nature of things." Santos himself says in an interview for the 2014 exhibition 2hide, which succeeded his Art Basel participation, that his "previous works sought to contradict the order of reality under a convincing veneer of naturalism," a statement that refers to his Art Basel installations, particularly Hide and Seek. Central to understanding the work is the usage of fabric/cloth and resin. In commonplace scenarios, cloth is used to conceal, and resin is employed as an adhesive or a protective lining and coating. In Hide and Seek, Santos presents a dialogue between the visible and the invisible, the conscious and the subconscious. Santos plays into the concept of the Proustian memory (coined by Marcel Proust from his literary masterpiece In Search of Lost Time (Remembrance of Things Past)), in which a specific memory that becomes buried in the subconscious (referred to as the "Involuntary Memory") is triggered and elicited by the senses. TOP AND MIDDLE: 1 and 2. Different views of Jose John Santos III's art installations at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2014. BOTTOM: The artist talking about the work, Hide and Seek, to interested visitors © Facebook, Artinformal According to the Danish professor and psychologist Dorthe Berntsen, in the article The Neural Basis of Involuntary Episodic Memories published by the US National Library of Medicine, "Involuntary episodic memories are memories of past events that come to mind spontaneously without a deliberate retrieval attempt. Such memories are central to our understanding of conscious mental processes; they are as frequent in daily life as intentionally retrieved memories and are functional, often directing our behavior. By favoring the recollection of recent events and events that share overlapping features with the ongoing situation, involuntary episodic memories operate in ways that increase the probability that they will provide information of relevance to the current situation." In the work's context, the coated bags conceal memories of lived realities. The solid tactility of the bags, dense in form and each having a distinct configuration, could evoke recollections when touched and become representative of the subjective nature of memories, i.e., engendering our personal impressions of personal realities instantly provoked by various stimuli. These stimuli evoke vivid emotions or may even relive the pains of the past that have been concealed due to their overwhelming effect on one's consciousness. Hide and Seek draws the viewer to re-collect bags of hidden memories to arrive at an introspective recollection of encounters and circumstances that are established in the past and may fill the voids in the present—re-collect to recollect. In doing so, one finally sheds light on what has been suppressed and deemed forever hidden. Santos' Hide and Seek finally arrives at a full circle; to hide does not simply mean the concealment of things, but an invitation to seek and venture into the invisible. To hide is to eventually unearth "the essence of the past," the "precious fragments" of one's being. (Adrian Maranan)
Leon Gallery
Jun. 08, 2024
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - a.) Girl with Parasol b.) Train
Est: ₱600,000 - ₱780,000
a.) Girl with Parasol signed and dated 1994 (lower right) pastel on paper 12 1/2" x 10" (31 cm x 25 cm) b.) Train signed and dated 1994 (lower right) pastel on paper 9 1/2" x 12" (24 cm x 30 cm) PROVENANCE Acquired directly from the artist from the present owner León Gallery, The Magnificent September Auction, Makati City, 28 September 2013, Lot 125
Leon Gallery
Mar. 09, 2024
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - Abstract Reasoning
Est: ₱1,000,000 - ₱1,300,000
Abstract Reasoning dated 2014 epoxy relief 15" x 12" x 15" x 11 1/2" (38 cm x 30 cm x 38 cm x 29 cm) (moulds) 12" x 9" (30 cm x 23 cm) (casts) PROVENANCE: Pearl Lam Galleries EXHIBITED: Pearl Lam Galleries, ²hide, Co-organised by Artinformal Gallery, Singapore, November 22, 2014 - January 8, 2015 LITERATURE: Ruoh Ling, Keong, Leo Abaya, and Kenneth Tay. ²hide. Singapore: Pearl Lam Galleries, 2014. Published to accompany the exhibition ²hide at Pearl Lam Galleries in 2014-15. Featured on the catalog's front and back covers; Full-color photograph and artwork description on page 47. WRITE UP: An Evocative Jose John Santos III From a Monumental Singapore Exhibition Abstract Reasoning was the centerpiece of Jose John Santos III’s monumental 2014 exhibition at the Pearl Lam Galleries in Singapore titled “²hide.” Pearl Lam Galleries, a leading cultural institution promoting contemporary Asian arts, described the exhibition as “a major body of new work…This new series creates a heightened awareness of everyday objects by imbuing them with expanded meaning and new associations. It is a specific, interrogatory, and novel engagement with the duality of interiority and exteriority embedded in commonplace objects.” In 2009, Santos III departed from figuration. “²hide” was a continuing endeavor for the artist in his deeper introspection on his creative process and focusing on mundane found objects. In that landmark show, viewers are immediately greeted by this intriguing work made of four separate slabs of epoxy relief. The term “abstract reasoning” refers to our ability to solve problems, understand complex concepts, and analyze patterns; it is profoundly related to harnessing our critical and logical thinking. When we delve into abstract reasoning and thinking, we are confronted by visuals (shapes, images, etc.) rather than words or numbers. These forms are arranged in a structured mesh of patterns and appear in an ordered progression that tickles the mind’s ability to recognize problems, find solutions, and reach a logical conclusion. Abstract reasoning is often employed in college admission exams and aptitude tests. Santos III’s Abstract Reasoning explores the representation and recontextualization of our ability to harness our own thinking. Presented in a horizontal manner akin to an entry in an aptitude test, the work touches on our innate capability of reconfiguring and reevaluating the objects we encounter every day but we nevertheless dismiss. Like an aptitude test, does the artist encourage us to know the next answer to this seeming pattern? Does he want to ask us which comes first in this series of reliefs? Or maybe, Santos III embodies us to view the object in relation to its medium: epoxy as a versatile everyday object used as a coating or adhesive for quick and convenient household repairs. Contextualized within the exhibition’s title “²hide,” the artist unveils the shrouded and often neglected importance of everyday objects, and how they harness our ability to solve problems and make living and breathing manageable. The artist rationalizes the ordinary and sheds light on the importance of these objects in our everyday realities and functioning. In doing so, Santos III buries the adjudged banality of these objects—the often disregarded gravitas they hold—and profoundly seeks their importance. This harkens back to our reality, tracing the roots of our functionality and acquired intelligence and skills to the curiosities of childhood. Because where do we first gain experience and learn to navigate this topsy-turvy world? It is from everyday realities concretized in everyday objects. From the mere scribbling on papers to the profound resourcefulness and quick-wittedness acquired through using what is readily available, these objects become part and parcel of our shared reality and intelligence. In doing so, memory becomes integral to the overall artistic process of Santos III; the evocations of both the artist and his viewer are brought to the fore. Furthermore, Abstract Reasoning embodies the exhibition’s main objective: the renewed appreciation for the “unimportant” and “trivial” and how these objects ultimately contribute to a renewed sense of living and being. (Adrian Maranan)
Leon Gallery
Dec. 02, 2023
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - A Collection of Stories IV
Est: ₱700,000 - ₱910,000
A Collection of Stories IV Vitrine containing studies and various objects height: 29” (74 cm) width: 66” (168 cm) Length: 30” (76 cm) EXHIBITED UP Vargas Museum, Confertum: Collecting Clouds, Quezon City, August 30 - September 28, 2013 LITERATURE Santos, Jose John III and Dayang Yraola. Confertum: Collecting Crowds (Exhibition Catalog). Mandaluyong City: Artinformal, 2013. Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same title at the UP Vargas Museum. Full-color photograph and painting description. WRITE UP
Leon Gallery
Dec. 03, 2022
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) Checkmate
Est: ₱4,000,000 - ₱5,200,000
Checkmate signed and dated 2005 (middle right) mixed media 48" x 60" (122 cm x 152 cm) PROVENANCE: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner Unlocking the Secrets of Our History by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL John Santos is one of the Philippines’ most important contemporary artists, drawing in his avid Filipino and international audiences to a mysterious but personal narrative — but also to his keenly observed insights into our psyches and our past. The work at hand appears to map a snapshot of the country’s history : Santos papers the work with one of the country’s most pivotal historical works, ‘Kasayaysan ng Bayang Pilipino’ by Teodoro Agoncillo. Agoncillo was the Philippines’ pre-eminent historian whose groundbreaking work on Bonifacio and the Katipunan helped define our history. Chapters on the man have been carefully selected for this work; as have passages on Rizal, the Phil-American War, and even Manuel Roxas. Four characters define the painting : A woman with a dazed expression holding a pamphlet in one hand and a key in another. The key is also lightly held by a man wearing a jester’s hat; he is naked to the waist, a metaphor perhaps of his simplicity and vulnerability. Is he the symbol of ‘bayan’, the everyman Filipino to whom events happen. Two other characters, both ‘kings’, are dressed in what appears to be a military uniform and a ‘cerrada’, a formal civilian jacket. These are the powers that be, the real movers and shakers. But things are also never as they seem in a John Santos painting. In this major work, we find as well an examination of our past and our present; our intentions and reality. José John Santos III has continued to break new ground as an artist. Named as one of the Cultural Center of the Philippines 13 Artists in 2000, he has gone from strength to strength. He exhibited at the The Armory Show, one of the oldest and most important art fairs in the United States. In 2018, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. — the modern and contemporary art museum of the Smithsonian Institution which is the national museum of the United States — accepted the donation of the José Santos III sculpture, “The Order of Things No. 3.” This event marked the first time that a Filipino artist, or a Southeast Asian artist for that matter, was accorded this honor.
Leon Gallery
Sep. 10, 2022
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - Naghaharing Reyna (Queen on High)
Est: ₱2,400,000 - ₱3,120,000
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) Naghaharing Reyna (Queen on High) signed and dated 2004 (middle right) mixed media 48" x 24" (122 cm x 61 cm) The Queen’s Gambit by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL José John Santos is one of the Philippines’ most important contemporary artists, drawing in his avid Filipino and international audiences to a mysterious but personal narrative — but also to his keenly observed insights into our psyches. He is an expert in the taut relationship between men and women, husbands and wives, and there is almost always a sense of the autobiographical in these works. There are, after all, no accidents, in a John Santos painting. The mood is set with the theme of playing cards, a reference to the luck of the draw that so often happens in matters of the heart. The ‘Naghaharing Reyna (Queen on High)’ is a favorite Filipino reference to the country’s matriarchal society. The queen reigns not over the heart in this case, but the hard-edged diamond, a symbol of practicality, if not pragmatism. She sits in studied languor with one arm under her head as if to give the appearance of ease; but of course, the opposite is true. As her opposite is the king, wearing a paper crown. While the queen is dressed in old-fashioned terno and panuelo, he is garbed in a sleek modern tee and sports jacket. The queen reigns under the Filipino-language banner “Reyna”; he rules in the millennial English world as “King.” The numerals XXIV suggest that it is for all of the twenty-four hours. Of course, things are never as they seem in a John Santos painting and there are endless revelations to be made as he examines past, present, truth and memory. The Queen’s Gambit by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL José John Santos III has continued to break new ground as an artist. Named as one of the Cultural Center of the Philippines 13 Artists in 2000, he has gone from strength to strength. He exhibited at the The Armory Show, one of the oldest and most important art fairs in the United States. In 2018, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. — the modern and contemporary art museum of the Smithsonian Institution which is the national museum of the United States — accepted the donation of the José Santos III sculpture, “The Order of Things No. 3.” This event marked the first time that a Filipino artist, or a Southeast Asian artist for that matter, was accorded this honor.
Leon Gallery
Jun. 11, 2022
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970)
Est: ₱800,000 - ₱1,040,000
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) Woman in Yellow signed and dated 2002 (lower right) oil on canvas 24" x 13 1/2" (61 cm x 34 cm) PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Manila As one of the most innovative voices in Contemporary Filipino Art, Jose John Santos III has fashioned his own iconic visual language, which combines references to art, culture, history, and contemporary life. While his works may come off as cryptic or ambiguous at first, there is a mysterious allure to the process of decoding and demystifying the underlying meaning or ethos of his enchanting pieces. In this particular piece, Santos presents us with two figures inspired by colonial and/ or turn-of-the-century photographs. Both figures are wearing traditional baro’t saya clothing and posed in a traditional, if not distinguished, manner. The work is indicative of the texture of history and the dialectical relationship between the East and the West. The figures themselves can be seen as juxtaposition between our colonial heritage through the history of the garments they wear and even the cultural implications of portraiture, and the ancestral roots of both our physical and social bodies. Here they are conflated in some kind of a balancing act; a combination of visuality and textuality that investigates their mutuality and apparent dichotomy. Read as a veritable page of its own, the painting posits a transcendental union of some kind. Ever vigilant of the freight of meaning and symbolism that an image carries, Jose John Santos III has extended his visionary figuration beyond our shores, exhibiting his works at Pearl Lam Galleries in Singapore. (J.D.)
Leon Gallery
Apr. 23, 2022
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - Untitled
Est: ₱35,000 - ₱45,500
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) Untitled signed and dated 1999 (lower right) pastel on paper 21” x 14 1/2” (53 cm x 37 cm)
Leon Gallery
Sep. 11, 2021
José John Santos III(b. 1970) Windblown
Est: ₱3,000,000 - ₱3,900,000
José John Santos III (b. 1970) Windblown signed and dated 2006 (lower right) oil on canvas 25" x 20" (64 cm x 51 cm) P 3,000,000 Provenance Private Collection, Manila The works of celebrated contemporary artist Jose John Santos III give off a familiar feel amidst an assemblage that is wholly unfamiliar when viewed in its totality—effectively challenging the viewer to engage with his works on a deeper level. Santos’ foray into the surreal first started when he was a student at the University of the Philippines’ Fine Arts program. He drew inspiration from a number of renowned surrealists such as Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg, and Joyce Tenesson, as well as few American artists that liked to focus on the everyday and the mundane such as Edward Hopper. Yet it was only in the early 2000s that Santos developed his iconic and visually frank surrealist style. By adopting the artistic philosophy of the Salingpusa group of artists, which involved both technical mastery and conceptual rigorousness, Santos was able to bring forth a wholly unique style that is still unparalleled in this day and age. Though the artist has since developed and updated his style as a way to constantly challenge his practice, his original aesthetic is undoubtedly one that has helped shape the landscape of Philippine contemporary art. This early 2000s piece is emblematic of Santos’ iconic look and feel. Though Santos has named a number of inspirations, this piece undoubtedly harkens back to a major piece of surrealist work, namely René Magritte’s painting titled Son of Man. One can see the similarities by looking at Santos’ and Magritte’s works side by side. Certain visual elements are undoubtedly similar right off the bat, such as how both the placement and the color of Magritte’s apple is replicated through Santos’ birdhouse-turned-headwear. While other more conceptual elements can be discerned by a closer look. Yet, unlike Magritte’s work which sought to unearth the absurdity of the human condition through impossible similarities, Santos’ work brings together a slew of disparate elements in an attempt to showcase how they relate to one another. This particular piece seemingly parodies the unneeded hierarchy that sometimes plagues organized religions. Other than they’re overtly religious pose, Santos’ figure is seen wearing a birdhouse as a mitre and carries an underwhelming papal ferula. It is this connection between the mundane and divine that Santos draws that ultimately gives the piece its context, one that shows how the divide between sacred and the profane is one that is thinner than one suspects.
Leon Gallery
Feb. 27, 2021
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) - The Game
Est: ₱5,000,000 - ₱6,500,000
Jose John Santos III (b. 1970) The Game signed and dated 2006 (lower left) oil on canvas 37” x 33” (94 cm x 84 cm) Private Collection, HongKong Christies, Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, HongKong, November 6, 2006, Lot 20. WRITE UP: The works of renowned contemporary artist Jose John Santos III are marked by a the use of seemingly unrelated familiar subjects and objects that result in new meanings, challenging the viewers’ assumptions and perceptions on reality. With exhibited juxtapositions between painting and photography as well as the old and the new, these pieces are praised for its narrative quality brought about by Santos’ distinct visual language and personal artistic sensibilities. Since his student years at the University of the Philippines, the sought-after artist was drawn to the works of Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg, photographer Joyce Tenesson, known Surrealists, and American Pop artists who paid attention to the mundane and the worldly with boldness. It is important to note, however, that the images present in Santos’ works are drawn from everyday reality instead of the subconscious, translated through a surrealist bent as well as a reflective approach. Hence, these appear as creations out of private musings on his immediate surroundings, and nonetheless, the alluring surrealism apparent in his pieces is noted to tap into the viewers’ subconscious. This featured early piece, The Game, shows the style he developed during the 2000s—as influenced by the Antipolo-based artist group Salingpusa—that involves fine draftsmanship of elegant, clean lines, mysterious sense of iconography, and structurally technical figuration. A combination of surrealist technique and artistic intent or perspective through assemblages of familiar images is displayed. Here, Santos incorporates more graphic elements suggestive of narrative and achieves a sense of flatness and tonal depictions of mass. Thought-provoking in a profound sense, the artist leaves the interpretation to the viewer regarding the game or the gamble the man is about to participate in, hinting perspective through objects like the dice which serve as allusions or signifiers to meaning.
Leon Gallery
Dec. 03, 2020
JOSÉ JOHN SANTOS III (B. 1970) Higher Ground 1 resinated fabric and boxes 2
Est: $120,000 - $200,000
JOSÉ JOHN SANTOS III (B. 1970) Higher Ground 1 resinated fabric and boxes 274 x 40 x 40 cm.
Christie's
Sep. 19, 2020
José John Santos III (b. 1970) - Through the Peep Hole
Est: ₱4,000,000 - ₱5,200,000
José John Santos III (b. 1970) Through the Peep Hole signed and dated 2005 (lower left) mixed media PROPERTY FROM A VERY DISTINGUISHED COLLECTOR John Santos is one of the Philippines’ most important contemporary artists, drawing in his avid Filipino and international audiences to a mysterious but personal narrative — but also to his keenly observed insights into our psyches. On the face of it, Santos here comes to grips — almost gingerly, treading as carefully on the large box marked in bold letters with the word “Fragile” — with the relationship between men and women. He has been suspected at times of painting with an autobiographical intention. It is no mistake that the woman at the other end of the swing-bench resembles his wife, the equally fiercely talented artist Pam Yan-Santos. There are no accidents, of course, in a John Santos painting. The weather-beaten bench is suspended by thin, be-ribboned threads, giving the scene a sense of precariousness and imminent imbalance. The barefoot woman, as so often happens in Santos’ works, is dressed in the garb of the past. She clasps almost defiantly a tightly shut book. The man, however, is formally dressed and shod. He also wears a protective helmet and a full-face mask. Between them is a spy-glass, of the kind explorers and astronomers would use. The artist refers to the telescope, however, as a “peep hole”, suggesting the somewhat voyeuristic purpose of this examination. Certainly, there is an imagined distance between this hero and his heroine. A peephole is a way for looking outside from behind a closed door; the subject, not as important as the act of watching. Is this perhaps a self-portrait of the famously introverted artist? Things are also never as they seem in a John Santos painting. In this major work, we find as well an examination of our past and our present; our intentions and reality. José John Santos III has continued to break new ground as an artist. Named as one of the Cultural Center of the Philippines 13 Artists in 2000, he has gone from strength to strength. He exhibited in 2018 at the The Armory Show, one of the oldest and most important art fairs in the United States. Also in 2018, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. — the modern and contemporary art museum of the Smithsonian Institution which is the national museum of the United States — accepted the donation of the José Santos III sculpture, “The Order of Things No. 3.” This event marked the first time that a Filipino artist, or a Southeast Asian artist for that matter, was accorded this honor. (Lisa Guerrero Nakpil) Estimate in USD $80000-$104000
Leon Gallery
Sep. 14, 2019
Jose John Santos III - (b.1970) - Vertical Sleep Installation of resinated fabric with video by Leo Abaya 2014
Est: ₱2,000,000 - ₱2,600,000
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Vertical Sleep Installation of resinated fabric with video by Leo Abaya 2014 Speaking about the exhibition “Hide”, mounted in 2014 at the Pearl Lam Gallery, from which this work comes, Leo A. C. Abaya noted that Santos’ “installations beg the viewer to breach the stillness of optical contemplation, replacing what is considered as the “linear, unblinking and fixed lone eye” of the classical tradition with bodily displacement, allowing “saccadic“ jumps (of the visual pyramid) from one focal point to another.” In that show, he wrote, “the artist synthesizes previous and present tendencies. Self-reflexively, he uses cloth as an activator for (his) eye and body to interrogate mimesis or the imitation of the so-called real world. As an agent of depiction, he foregoes the scenographic position that privileged the arrangement of figures and objects in a matrix of unitary space. Like a camera zoom lens, he hones in on the subjects, optically and haptically scanning textures and surfaces, conjuring them as matrices upon which something may develop or emerge. “Distinguished from mere drapery, cloth is not laid down in sensuous repose or undulated like a hilly landscape. It is depicted as an opaque externality. Like flayed skin or screen, it appears hung and upright, bearing its own weight against the force of gravity. In this way, it is confrontational like a wall or a barrier. It protects that which is inside. It is a border or edge that determines an entity from everything else. “As covering, cloth is also the material that physically wraps rubble, emphasized by the installation of the same in the exhibition. However, since the rock and concrete fragments that make up the rubble are not what they appear to be, being simulations, it makes one ponder. Having exceeded the copies of their reference, the unreliability that underneath the wrappings are either the simulations of objects as suggested or completely something else, begs the question: is a third layer of meaning intended? What does this shrouding of forms, this replacement of blunt significations do? What is the purpose of all these verisimilitude if depiction hides and covers? Is it the same as camouflage, which, through the mimicry of skin with proximal environment, an organism conceals itself without hiding? What is the artist trying to conceal? “In situating veridical paintings vis-à-vis wrapped and simulated objects within the same spatial field of experience, does the artist intend to make us feel a loss of certainty in what accounts for reality?” —— Leo A. C. Abaya, from the Hide Catalogue, produced by the Pearl Lam Gallery, Singapore.
Leon Gallery
Jun. 01, 2019
Jose Santos III (b. 1970)
Est: ₱900,000 - ₱1,000,000
Shrouded in fabric, the mystery of boxes lay beneath those covers. The audience is left to value the pieces on their own accord, and if they venture beneath the resin coated sheets, what they will find is mostly detritus. The interaction of the audience and the piece brings a dialogue on the process of valuing the material and its effects on the person appraising them. Stacked up like a totem pole, the built figure symbolizes the tendency of viewer to conflate possession and the estimate of value. Provenance: Property from an Important Asian Collection Literature: WASAK! Filipino Art Today (Distanz, December 2015) pp. 156 17 Questions for Filipino Artist José Santos III (BlouinArtInfo, 2014) Hide and seek: Filipino artist José Santos III illuminates the ordinary – in pictures (Art Radar, 2014) Emily Nathan, Ambiguity and Contradiction in New Relief Works by José Santos III (ARTSY EDITORIAL, 2014) Exhibitions: Pearl Lam Galleries, Singapore
Salcedo Auctions
May. 26, 2019
JOSÉ JOHN SANTOS III (PHILIPPINES, B. 1970) Jack in the Box oil on canvas 92 x 61 cm. (36 1/4 x 24 in.)
Est: $70,000 - $90,000
JOSÉ JOHN SANTOS III (PHILIPPINES, B. 1970) Jack in the Box signed and dated 'JOSE SANTOS III 2005' (lower right) oil on canvas 92 x 61 cm. (36 1/4 x 24 in.) Painted in 2005
Christie's
Dec. 01, 2018
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Untitled
Est: ₱1,000,000 - ₱1,300,000
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Untitled signed and dated 2002 (lower right) oil on canvas 24”x 20” (61 cm x 51 cm) One of the foremost mid-career artists working today, Jose John Santos III is an iconoclast, not settling on a particular visual idiom but instead looking into different approaches to address urgent concerns. But he does work in phases, and this painting belongs to a relatively early period in which Santos explored the dichotomy of the East and the West. In this work, a man — a colonial flaneur — garbed in a suit balances himself by a doorway as a woman in a Filipiniana props herself by an armrest. Though they share the same pictorial space, they don’t necessarily belong to the same scene. The lamppost, as an extension of this point, appears to be the third element. The juxtaposition of the man and the woman, however, is pivotal to the narrative content: they expectantly wait for each other but seem to be taking their time. This open-endedness allows Santos to enter history through imaginative speculation. For instance, a question emerges: to what extent colonialism was propagated through collaboration and co-optation? Regardless of the possible answer, what Santos foregrounds through this masterful work is the complexity of motivation in people’s allegiance and refusal. 129
Leon Gallery
Sep. 08, 2018
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱800,000 - ₱1,040,000
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Queen of the House A modern realist with a classical flair, José John Santos III has been constantly traversing between the nostalgia of the past, contrasted with the present-day realities faced by the common man including his own. This portrait of a matriarch done in 2005 is depicted as the queen of the household, harkened from antiquity on the issue of the definitive role and status of the housewife. Titled after the 1965 hit single by American country singer Jody Miller, Santos plays a tune of social commentary towards what is the role of the woman in the household, who changes her mask to meet and address the needs of her family, her peers and the society at large. But in a Kafkaesque twist, Santos changes the narrative in portraying his sitter into a much regal and a commanding presence as an Oriental potentate with her fleur-de-lis crown, red ermine-like dress and her ivory mask serving as her personal scepter. The Marian imagery is quite reminiscent of early depictions of the Virgin Mary found in early Christian Southeast Asian Art done in the mid-16th and 17th century that has been married with royal portraiture during the Ancien regime of France prior to the revolution in 1789. signed and dated 2005 (lower right) oil on canvas 24”x 20” (61 cm x 51 cm)
Leon Gallery
Jun. 09, 2018
Untitled
Est: ₱2,000,000 - ₱2,600,000
Untitled
Leon Gallery
Mar. 10, 2018
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱1,200,000 - ₱1,600,000
Untitled
Salcedo Auctions
Mar. 10, 2018
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱280,000 - ₱350,000
Riseta ni Doc
Salcedo Auctions
Dec. 02, 2017
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Movement, Non-Movement and Lostness
Est: ₱1,800,000 - ₱2,340,000
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Movement, Non-Movement and Lostness signed and dated 1997 (lower right) oil on canvas 46” x 39” (117 cm x 99 cm)
Leon Gallery
Sep. 23, 2017
JOSE JOHN SANTOS III(b. 1970)
Est: ₱3,000,000 - ₱3,800,000
JOSE JOHN SANTOS III(b. 1970) One Way 2005 Oil on canvas 122 x 152 cm (48 x 60 in)
Salcedo Auctions
Sep. 09, 2017
Second Turn
Est: ₱1,800,000 - ₱2,340,000
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Quantity: 1
Leon Gallery
Sep. 09, 2017
Surface Tension
Est: ₱4,000,000 - ₱5,200,000
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Quantity: 1
Leon Gallery
Jun. 10, 2017
Scale for Sale
Est: ₱1,800,000 - ₱2,340,000
Scale for Sale
Leon Gallery
Dec. 03, 2016
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱1,000,000 - ₱1,300,000
The Open Minded signed and dated 2006 (lower left) oil on canvas 24” x 20” (61 cm x 51 cm)
Leon Gallery
Sep. 10, 2016
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱1,200,000 - ₱1,560,000
Jose John Santos III (b.1970) Untitled signed and dated 2007 (lower right) oil on canvas 36” x 36” (91 cm x 91 cm)
Leon Gallery
Jun. 13, 2015
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱20,000 - ₱26,000
Untitled
Leon Gallery
Jun. 13, 2015
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱100,000 - ₱130,000
Untitled
Leon Gallery
Jun. 13, 2015
Jose John Santos III (b.1970)
Est: ₱120,000 - ₱156,000
Untitled
Leon Gallery
Feb. 07, 2015
Jose John Santos III (1970) Untitled
Est: ₱400,000 - ₱520,000
Jose John Santos III (1970) Untitled signed and dated 2001 (lower right)
Leon Gallery
Nov. 29, 2014
Jose John Santos III (1970) Untitled sig
Est: ₱300,000 - ₱390,000
Jose John Santos III (1970) Untitled signed and dated 2005 (lower right) oil on canvas 30" x 24" 76 cm x 61 cm
Leon Gallery
Nov. 29, 2014
Jose John Santos III (1970) Chauffer sig
Est: ₱120,000 - ₱156,000
Jose John Santos III (1970) Chauffer signed and dated 2008 (lower right) charcoal and chalk pastel on paper 25" x 19 1/4" 63 cm x 49 cm Salcedo Auctions, Art Today: Contemporary Philippine Art, 29 June 2013, Lot 12
Leon Gallery
Sep. 13, 2014
Jose John Santos III (1970)
Est: ₱120,000 - ₱156,000
Jose John Santos III (1970) The Discussion signed and dated 2006 (lower right) oil on canvas 36" x 48 (90 cm x 122 cm)
Leon Gallery
Jun. 21, 2014
Jose John Santos III
Est: ₱300,000 - ₱390,000
Jose John Santos III Clamped signed and dated (lower right) 2009
Leon Gallery
Mar. 22, 2014
Jose John Santos III (1970) Godiva at 72
Est: -
Jose John Santos III (1970) Godiva at 72 signed and dated 2001 (lower right) oil on canvas 36" x 58 1/4 (91 cm x 147 cm)
Leon Gallery
Sep. 22, 2012
Jose John Santos III
Est: ₱250,000 - ₱350,000
Jose John Santos III Conversations 2005
Salcedo Auctions
May. 30, 2011
JOSÉ JOHN SANTOS III (The Philippines b. 1970)
Est: $80,000 - $120,000
JOSÉ JOHN SANTOS III (The Philippines b. 1970) Paper Dolls signed 'josé santos III' (lower left) oil on canvas and wood frame with plexiglas 60 x 96 in. (152.4 x 243.8 cm.) Executed in 2011
Christie's