Statements

Paintings

Our cultural obsession with the digital world is cause for deep concern. Lost in our screens time collapses and we lose sense of our bodies in space. In response, I create densely layered oil paintings that emphasize the tactile physicality of kinetic, embodied experience. 

From this foundation, my oil paintings investigate color, geometry and materiality through the referencing of structures (from buildings to plants to bodies), landscapes (real, mythic and imagined) and built environments (urban and rural) as metaphors for the human experience. I work with thick applications of oil paint mixed directly on the canvas, and use a range of flat tools intended for applying drywall compound to compose paint surfaces that vibrate with slabs, ridges and peaks. Areas of the surface are built, layered, mixed and remixed as the paintings evolve. Driven by the exploration of the pre-verbal, intuitive, haptic and sensual, I create works that speak to our sense of touch and proprioception to bring us closer to our bodies, our material reality and, in turn, connect us more deeply with the places we inhabit. My process involves intense physical interaction that focuses on balancing structure with improvisation in an ongoing effort to fit disparate parts into a cohesive whole that is at once tectonic and organic.

Mixed Media Woven Paintings

My mixed media woven paintings grapple with concerns for the environment and the material waste derived from the practice of making art. Interested in making use of leftover materials such as raw canvas and wood panels in my studio, I began to investigate options for reuse. Developed during Covid, these works grapple with bodily anxiety as well as the feeling of time slowing down, warping and moving in new and uncharted directions. Taking on a life of their own, these works offer a break from traditional painting practices and offer new paths of experimentation and exploration.

Land Acknowledgement

I acknowledge that the work documented here is created on the land where I live and work, currently known as Alameda, County, California. This is the unceded territory of xucyun (Huichin), the original landscape of the Chochenyo speaking Lisjan Ohlone people, the successors of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County, California. As such, I recognize and honor the original and current caretakers of this land, water and air, the Ohlone people and all of their descendants past, present and future. Please consider donating to the organizations listed below. 

For information please visit www.muwekma.org and Sogoreate-landtrust.org