Michael Van Ofen Essen, Alemania, b. 1956
Toqueville (Head), 2008
Oil on canvas
42 x 38 cm
16 1/2 x 15 in
16 1/2 x 15 in
© 2008 Michael Van Ofen / Courtesy Fundación AMMA
Photo: Alejandro Paez
Further images
At the limits of representation, the painting allows us to recognize a human head by virtue of conventions such as proportion, placement along the axes, and the relationship between colors.
In his painting, Van Ofen simplifies and crops images to the point of abstraction, playing with making them unrecognizable at first glance while simultaneously retaining the basic features that a more attentive gaze eventually associates with the original subject.
In his painting, Van Ofen simplifies and crops images to the point of abstraction, playing with making them unrecognizable at first glance while simultaneously retaining the basic features that a more attentive gaze eventually associates with the original subject.