Cave Paintings

2021

In his Cave Paintings, Vonhof explores the relationship between high forms of art, specifically landscape oil painting, and so-called primitive forms of art such as petroglyphs and pictographs. In these works, the artist seeks to disconnect from the complexities of modern life and in turn focus on existence in the world, particularly the natural world. Through engaged brushwork/mark making and the accumulation of unintentional marks on the canvas, the artist creates a sense of primality in his work, referencing the ways in which humans have viewed and interacted with the world around them. The works are a series of imagined landscapes and thus do not relate to any single place, which allows the artist freedom in abstraction and representation, further connecting this body of work with that of the early human artists.

Inherent Beauty

30” x 30”, oil and oil stick on unprimed canvas

New Mexico

30” x 30”, oil on unprimed canvas

Evolution

40” x 33”, oil on unprimed canvas

Us

34” x 33”, oil and oil stick on unprimed canvas

Pelvic Structure

41” x 44”, oil on unprimed canvas

Crossings

54” x 30”, oil on unprimed canvas

Origins

53” x 54”, oil on unprimed canvas

Hunter(s)

67” x 54”, oil and oil stick on unprimed canvas

Being

68” x 80”, oil on unprimed canvas