About

John Engen’s Vanitas Portfolios

John Engen’s work explores the enduring concept of vanitas across three interconnected art portfolios, each reinterpreting 17th-century Dutch still-life traditions through contemporary methods and symbolism.

Vanitas: Distortions

This series reimagines classical Dutch still lifes using visual distortion, fragmentation, and subtle pop-art elements. Traditional objects—fruit, glassware, skulls, and table settings—are disrupted by color fields, geometric interruptions, and digital artifacts. The works are presented in an immersive virtual 3D gallery, reinforcing themes of perception, instability, and shifting value.

Vanitas: Contemporary Reflections

An ongoing series that places modern icons within the symbolic framework of Dutch vanitas painting. Objects associated with time, wealth, identity, and technology are suspended in moments of quiet tension, emphasizing impermanence and cultural change while maintaining the compositional discipline of historical still life.

Window Reflections

This portfolio focuses on glass and reflection as metaphors for fragile perception. A tabletop window frame distorts time-marked objects—lemons, goldfish, masks, and modern devices—while a tarnished mirror blurs the boundary between what is real and what is reflected. The recurring hour of 3:00 suggests a pause between rest and awakening, life and decay, merging classical symbolism with contemporary illusion.