
Straight To Hell
A swirling, otherworldly descent into chaos unfolds across Inka Essenhigh's canvas, rendered in her signature fluid, enamel-like style with sinuous figures and luminous, almost psychedelic color. Writhing forms tumble through a dreamlike infernal landscape that hovers between cartoon surrealism and classical allegory. The composition pulses with a dark, comic energy, blending seduction and dread in equal measure.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
Contemporary Art Day Sale
November 12, 2013
More by Inka Essenhigh
Artists in conversation

Marcel Dzama
Canadian · b. 1974

Dzama shares Essenhigh's blend of cartoon surrealism and dark allegorical narrative, populating dreamlike underworld scenes with writhing figurative forms that balance comic absurdity with genuine dread. His fluid linework and otherworldly infernal imagery closely echo the sinuous, psychedelic quality of this piece.

Neo Rauch
German · b. 1960

Rauch creates densely layered figurative oil paintings where tumbling figures inhabit surreal dreamscapes that oscillate between classical allegory and psychological chaos, much like this descent into a comic yet menacing infernal realm. His luminous, enamel like color surfaces and swirling compositional energy parallel Essenhigh's distinctive technique.

Lisa Yuskavage
American · b. 1962

Yuskavage employs the same psychedelic luminosity and fluid oil paint handling to render figurative scenes charged with seduction and psychological unease, blending lowbrow cartoon sensibility with allegorical depth. Her bold, gestural approach to the human figure in surreal atmospheric settings mirrors the dark comic energy and sinuous forms in this work.
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