Jay Heikes’ irregularly-shaped, densely-textured ‘cave paintings’ are the result of laborious rubbings, many of which come from pigmented animal hides. The thickness of the object and the primal imprint of the artist’s hand suggest a kind of Paleolithic ritual object. Heikes’ paintings conjure the myth of the artist coming into being where the most prehistoric tools, marks, and gestures combine to make a truly contemporary and meditative work. Last year, one of Heikes’ cave paintings entered the Walker Art Center’s collection. Heikes lives and works in Minneapolis. His work has been exhibited at the ICA, Philadelphia; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.