Daniel Pfalzgraf

Pfalzgraf’s current series of work, Kentucky Game are blind contour drawings on paper painted in with oil paint and other mixed media and explore the themes of attraction, hunting, and collecting. 

The subject matter are all wildlife animals found in Kentucky that are legally considered hunt-able game. Each piece in this series begins life as a blind contour drawing done in charcoal that is then "filled in" with oil paint and occasionally other media, including aquarelle stick and shoe polish or other randomly found materials found in his studio.

"Having spent over 20 years as an exhibiting artist, as well as working for art museums and galleries, I have become aware of the deep, primal attraction art lovers and collectors develop to specific works of art and artists. Living in Kentucky, I am also acutely aware of the culture of hunting, and how collecting and taxidermizing specimens can fill a similar need for outdoorsmen and women."

The physical characteristics of wildlife have evolved over millennia to make an animal appear more attractive to other members of the same species (colorful plumage, large antler racks, bodily strength and size, etc.). Ironically, many of these characteristics have become valued by human hunters for collecting and displaying as well. This process similarly reflects ways artists have evolved in an attempt to attract their ideal collector-mates.