Artist’s Statement

I use geometric abstraction, pattern, and color on a variety of surfaces to create optical effects that produce the illusion of movement and depth. When I use three-dimensional objects, the shape and form are altered by the painted surface, resulting in perceptual confusion. My goal is to upend normal habits of observation, skewing our understanding of what the eye sees and the mind interprets. I want to incite a rush of hallucinatory disorientation that opens a new way of seeing.

I use found and repurposed materials, making what could be called assisted readymades. I rarely produce new objects, preferring to give a fresh start to those that already exist. When not using scraps and discards I appropriate the patterns and designs found on fabric and wallpaper or use those materials themselves in my work. Even the colors I choose are taken from such other sources as nature, art history, and the clutter of physical culture. I am not as much a creator as I am a combiner, finding unfamiliar ways for familiar things to come together.

While the artists I most admire are those who produce the purist forms and images (the Minimalists, Color Field, Op and Geometric Abstractionists), I have chosen to allow the flaws in my execution to become essential parts of my work. For me the image is a vehicle for the idea rather than an end in itself. It does not need to be machine-slick to embody the thought behind it. I cultivate the humanity of flaws, the humility of imperfection, and the warmth apparent in the touch of flesh to media.

I am interested in the comingling of disparate forms and ideas. In our society I see different cultures sharing geographical proximity without participating in more than a superficial blending. These observations have been an inspiration in my practice of bringing together and layering patterns. In my work systems of ornamentation collide but never merge entirely just as people share the city without becoming a community.