VanDahl

18/01/2026

🌎🌍🌏
“The World Is Yours” (2026)
75 x 60 cm
Acrylic paint & mixed media on canvas

This painting carries a quiet homage to Bad Route (1998) by Miguel Calderón - a work that’s stayed with me for years, not least for its appearance as a key visual moment in one of my favourite films, The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001). That intersection of art, cinema, danger and deadpan humour definitely left a lasting imprint.

This work sits somewhere between confidence and consequence. The push to go harder, dream bigger, and take control even when the path is loud, uncertain, and full of problems.

The world is yours. But only if you’re willing to reach for it.

New work by Van Dahl

Follow for new paintings, studio moments and exhibition updates.

13/01/2026

🍷☀️🍷
“Old Wine in a New Bottle” (2026)
75 x 60 cm
Acrylic paint & mixed media on canvas

Painted from fond memories of my time living in Los Angeles, chasing fashion photography and soaking up the heat and haze of the Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, and long days drifting through Venice Beach.

Billboards, neon, lowriders, studio nights, chance encounters - fragments of a city that leaves a lasting mark.

This work is nostalgia layered with Hollywood myths, West Coast attitude, and the rhythm of a place that raised generations of image-makers and rappers alike.

Same energy, different decade.

Soundtrack recommendation: Anything from Ice Cube in the 90s

Laid-back, sun-faded, and reflective - the perfect counterpoint to memory, myth, and the glow of the West Coast.

Follow for new works and studio drops.

21/12/2025

😸🙀
KYUSS COAST HOWLER

75 x 60 cm
Acrylic paint & mixed media on canvas

This new piece came out of long rides, loud riffs and that moment where the coast starts to feel like a desert.

Kyuss Coast Howler is a collision of stoner rock, surf folklore and motorcycle culture - sunburnt colours, raw symbols, instinct over polish.

There’s a quiet homage in here to Jordy Kerwick - the freedom of mark-making, naïve energy and emotional honesty that reminds me art doesn’t need permission to be powerful. Just felt right to let that influence bleed through.

Painted with Kyuss on repeat - this one belongs with “Gardenia” turned up loud.

More to come.

Follow the ride.
🎵 Gardenia - Kyuss
📍Australia

17/12/2025

🙀😸🙀
KYUSS COAST HOWLER
75 x 60 cm
Acrylic paint & mixed media on canvas

This new piece came out of long rides, loud riffs and that moment where the coast starts to feel like a desert.

Kyuss Coast Howler is a collision of stoner rock, surf folklore and motorcycle culture - sunburnt colours, raw symbols, instinct over polish.

There’s a quiet homage in here to Jordy Kerwick - the freedom of mark-making, naïve energy and emotional honesty that reminds me art doesn’t need permission to be powerful. Just felt right to let that influence bleed through.

Painted with Kyuss on repeat - this one belongs with “Gardenia” turned up loud.

More to come.
Follow the ride.

Gardenia - Kyuss
Australia
Van Dahl

13/12/2025

♥️🏍♥️❓⁉️
“CRIMSON DAWN: LEFT ON READ”
120 x 100 cm
Acrylic & mixed media on canvas

Painted in that split second between ignition and escape - where the city fades, the engine hums, and instinct takes over. This work is born from the freedom I feel on two wheels.

Left on read and already gone.

This is about choosing motion over permission. About riding at first light, when the world hasn’t caught up yet.

If this hits, follow the trail.
More works, process, and chaos unfolding here →

Ride fast. Trust your instincts.


MediaPainting
Artist

24/11/2025

What a wonderful evening at the Korea-Australia Arts Foundation (KAAF) Art Prize on last Friday night!

I am deeply honoured to have been selected as a National finalist in this year’s Prize - being included amongst such talented and diverse artists is genuinely exciting.

A huge congratulations to the winners and my sincere thanks to the judges and everyone who made the event possible.

The exhibition runs from Friday 21 November 2025 through Friday 16 January 2026 at the Korean Cultural Centre Australia Gallery (GF, 255 Elizabeth St, Sydney).

If you have a chance, I encourage you to visit! I’m proud to have my painting “Humphrey in Bloom” featured in the show - it’s available to view alongside a rich selection of finalist works across cultural backgrounds.

Thank you again to KAAF, the organisers, the judges (John McDonald & Dr Oliver Smith) and fellow finalists and congratulations to the winner Min-Woo Bang with the $30,000 Acquisitive prize.... definitely some well-deserved success.

Explore more of my work at: www.van-dahl.com

20/11/2025

💕🦋 “Madame Butterfly / Lady Luck”
120cm x 100cm
Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas

There are moments in the studio when a character just arrives-fully formed, loud, glamorous, and carrying her own mythology. Madame Butterfly / Lady Luck is one of them. Part guardian spirit, part cosmic trickster, she’s the type who floats into your life with big blue eyes, a mischievous smile, and a promise that fortune favours the brave.

Symbols, patterns and hidden stories weave through this piece... a hybrid of protection, transformation and chance. A reminder that being lucky in love isn’t random-it’s invited. 💕

View more of my recent work at www.van-dahl.com

MediaArt

08/11/2025

08/11/2025

46 Lamrock Ave, Bondi Beach 🌊🏄🏽

A couple of my works are hanging in a pop-up gallery in Bondi - a little throwback to the Scum Valley days, where my interest in art and photography began while living in Bondi when rent was cheap, walls were cracked, and every flat on Lamrock Ave had a band, a painter, or a surfboard being repaired in the kitchen.

Bondi used to be full of grit and character - a place built by artists, misfits, and dreamers. These days, it’s all glass balconies and ghost-white apartments. But the pulse is still here - under the surface, in the back rooms and garages, still painting, still making noise.

This pop-up’s about that the old soul of Bondi that refuses to be polished out.

Big thanks to Greg Perano for curating the show which continues on this weekend.
1st Nov to 9th Nov 2025

Get a glimpse of old school Bondi before the Lycra took over.

Artists works include: and many more

Beach

05/11/2025

Thrilled to share that my painting “Humphrey in Bloom” has been selected as a finalist in the KAAF Art Prize 2025!

It’s an honour to be part of this year’s exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre in Sydney, alongside so many inspiring Australian artists. Huge thanks to the judges and the KAAF team for the recognition.

If you’re in Sydney, come along and see the show — it’s always an incredible celebration of contemporary art and cultural diversity.

🎨 Humphrey in Bloom
Finalist — KAAF Art Prize 2025
Artist: Van Dahl
www.van-dahl.com



Korean Cultural Centre Gallery
255 Elizabeth St,
Sydney NSW 2000
Weekdays 10am - 6pm

04/11/2025

🤩 Honored to be named a national finalist in the KAAF Art Prize 2025 with my painting “Humphrey in Bloom.”

So grateful to be showing alongside so many incredible Australian artists in a prize that celebrates cultural diversity and contemporary art.

The exhibition opens soon at the Korean Cultural Centre, Sydney can’t wait to see Humphrey on the wall and connect with everyone there.

More details at www.kaaf.org.au

🎨 Humphrey in Bloom
Finalist - KAAF Art Prize 2025
by Van Dahl
www.van-dahl.com

22/10/2025

🦍Art is an animal instinct 🦍
Group show opening night. Thanks to everyone who came to support and celebrate! The opening night for Menagerie group art show by on a very warm Sydney night at

Great to again mix it with so many local talented artists and all the enthusiastic Sydney art lovers!!