Nona Garcia (b. 1978)

Signed & Dated

2011

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

60†x 84†(152 cm x 213 cm)

Provenance

Provenance: Sotheby’s, Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, Spring Sale, April 4, 2011, lot 224.

Write Up

In this piece entitled Horizontal Disparity, Garcia confronts the physicality and materiality of our world by playing with how we sense and experience our reality. Upon first glance, one is immediately drawn to Garcia’s perplexing use of perspective. But, a closer look reveals a much deeper mystery. The painting is filled with seemingly common objects, a chair, a desk, a mirror, and so on. But, these objects, though familiar to most of us, are seemingly off. The chair’s proportions suggest that it is connected to something else, while the mirror is seemingly melting into the piece’s center. Everywhere you look, you are faced with even more questions than answers. Thus, what Garcia achieves here is a form of aesthetics in the Hedieggerean sense. Her work confronts the very fabric of reality by asking the question: “Can I trust what I sense and see?†Horizontal Disparity showcases the core tenets of Nona Garcia’s artistic philosophy. It breaks down the barriers of reality in order to invite the viewer to not only rethink what they know, but to rebuild it as well.