Jeff Bartels Paints Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings Of Strange Antiques That Never Existed

Canadian artist Jeff Bartels is the creator of Alternative Artifacts, a series of hyperreal oil paintings featuring antique-looking objects that actually never existed. Looking at his paintings, you can’t help but wonder what the world would be like if those objects were real.

The line between reality and imagination is very thin here, and that’s what makes his art so attractive. According to his website, the series “explores the blurring of lines between the truth and lies that have become prevalent in recent years. Named “Alternative Artifacts”, each oil painting features a meticulously detailed, hyperreal object from the past that never actually existed. The series is meant to stretch and bend the truth about our past in order to bring a focus on the deceptions going on today.”

Scroll down and enjoy the paintings.