I rolled into Father Knows Best and noticed the man sitting next to me was wearing paint-splattered pants. Curiosity got the best of me, and I chatted him up. He introduced himself as Ryan Bock, but it was when he showed me his Instagram that I recognized I was talking to Bockhaus.

A few weeks later, I dropped in his studio. Bockhaus was gearing up for a solo show at the Ground Effect Gallery in Paris: "I’m Afraid of Americans,” the title adapted from a David Bowie song. He painted as I interviewed, and our discussion dove deep. I watched him fill the canvas in layers of black, white, and gray as we spoke about color theory, racial justice, and what it means to be American.

City to City

Bockhaus is a disciple of art, having studied in cities across the map. Born in California, Bockhaus attended an art-focused high school in Dallas, graduated college in Chicago, studied abroad in Prague, and built a career in New York.

Bockhaus had to apply to get into his high school. There, the students were divided into different ‘clusters’ and separated by focus, except for one class everyone took – “Elements of Art.” Students were encouraged to see the fundamental components of creativity. It had a strong impact on Bockhaus.

“Where do these things come together, where do they meet… it’s something I apply so much to my own practice.”

College let Bockhaus experiment his style by offering a more open education. At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) Bockhaus focused on film. He wanted to concentrate on the more technical aspects of the art. Some of Bockhaus's biggest influences come from experimental film, such as the works of David Lynch and the Czech surrealist animator Jan Švankmajer.

Prague left a deep impression on Bockhaus’s artistic senses. While he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (AVU) he took an interest in cubism. As a kid, Bockhaus hated Picasso, but as he began to understand Cubist theory and its application to both theater and paintings, he gained an appreciation. Muted color, three-dimensional perspectives, and odd constructions; this unique framework of the world shapes much of his work.

“I’ve always been drawn to a limited palette. [In Prague] I had an awakening to the direction I wanted to take.”