Collection: Victor Van

Victor Van

Practicing at Interact since 2016

Victor Van’s paintings and artist books translate content that he finds on the internet and radio, situating visions of American triumph and tribulation alongside the obscure and mundane. In the studio and in his work, Van is interested in observing and gathering. He uses a phone to queue up images, sifting through screenshots of movies, food, art history, kitsch, and current events. He begins drawings with a grid in graphite, which he then uses as a framework for resizing and translating digital images into acrylic paintings. He works quickly, using loose strokes and color blocking to approximate the details of the original source. Music is an important part of Van’s process – he often sings or listens to the radio as he works. In a series of infinitesimally detailed artist books, Van transcribes the audio of a commercial radio station, populating the margins with drawings of cars, Doritos, and liquor. 

Van has presented work in exhibitions throughout Minnesota and beyond, including In Our Minds at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, We Are Not Disposable (2020), Randomland at The White Page (2019), Changing Landscapes at the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota (2017), and The Binding Is Just a Way to Keep It All Together at the Cargill Gallery at Minneapolis Central Library. In 2025, Van's work was featured in Interact's debut at Open Invitational Miami during Miami Art Week.

Special thanks to Xavier Tavera for this portrait of the artist.