Untitled,
Oil on canvas, 1993
Predominately making work from the early 80's, Ull Hohn was a German artist living and working in New York. As a student at the Dusseldorf Academy he studied under Gerhard Richter who was a professor there at the time.
Hohn's position as a painter can be understood as a reaction to approach of his notorious tutor. Often choosing to paint kitsch landscapes; Hohn connects motifs and formal tropes used by Richter in his paintings with formula's used by the TV painting instructor Bob Ross. Hohn warps the distinction between high brow and low-brow art by constructing by perversely generic and romantic compositions by following specific painting techniques. Hohn's paintings become unsettlingly close to genuine hobbyist landscapes however attempt to maintain a critical position in relation to contemporary art.
"Hohn displays no interest in either overcoming the influence of the teacher or trafficking in the prestige of his formation. Rather, he exacerbates the overbearing pedagogical influence by rerouting it onto a substitute (an amateurization of Richter which brings him down to a level below even what is encompassed by the term 'deskilling)." Sanchez, Michael. ’How‐To Paunt Project’
Tan Enamel,
modeling paste and paint on canvas, 1993
Untitled,
Oil on canvas, 1993