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.
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"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.
