mixed media artist
About
Broadly speaking, I am interested in how we solidify collections of salient moments of our lives into constructs of identity, beliefs, and narratives about ourselves, others, and the world. In my artwork I attempt to distill this interest down to a playful exploration of color, shape, and symbol. I approach each piece like an explorer, constantly trying new techniques and materials, and consciously breaking rules. I work primarily in abstraction and in many ways I'm trying to create my own visual syntax, that expresses a complex and disorganized unity that holds together as a sort of gestalt in any one moment. Often, I'm as perplexed as the viewer regarding the question of "what is it about?" of the finished work, and I find the urge to generate meaning to lay on top of it quite fascinating. I also understand that my work may not be about anything. It may be a purely visual, sensory, experience, a visual "sound and fury,signifying nothing" if you will. For me it is an expression of something, though I recognize that may have little to do with what it is for the viewer. I am agnostic on the belief that art has to have a stated purpose or message intended by the artist. If I have any intention, it is that my art creates a moment of pause, curiosity, questioning, and even confusion and discomfort. I want viewers to enter the tension between the need to make meaning and embodying an experience.
"My art asks viewers to stop, consider, question, and ponder. That can be an uncomfortable experience but I think it's important to wrestle with uncertainty and unpredictability, in a world where we are increasingly asking others - including technology - to tell us what to think/do."
In 1988 I entered college with an art major already declared. After three semesters of critiques I didn't understand and an overwhelming feeling of imposter syndrome, I dropped the major, believing I simply was not an "Artist." Eventually, I settled on a double major of Philosophy and English Literature (both of which had great influence on who I am and on my artwork today).
While I continued to explore visual arts, music, and writing after college and throughout my life, it was not until 2022 that I applied consistent intention, effort, and study to my visual art practice. Prior to that, I owned several businesses and was a professor of business and entrepreneurship. In 2022, I had the opportunity to step away from the business world for a few years and to invest in my art and in myself as an artist.
