ERIC MASSHOLDER (B. 1960) When fire makes water

oil on canvas 110x70 cm painted in 2009 Provenance: Private collection, South of France When Fire Makes Water exemplifies Massholder’s sense of experimentation and fun. Using various techniques, he draws inspiration from surrealism, and ideas of the subconscious, but injects humour and even a sense of Pop art into his image, with the comic, phallic black figure with fists raised in the centre of the work, and the dots that look as if they have been spray painted on. This painting, like so much of Massholder’s work, is an exploration of boundaries, such as the line between the real and surreal, and the conscious and subconscious.