inventory of the possible 2017
westchester 2015
crossing the Tiber 2013
In 2011 I received a travel and research fellowship from the Jane Crater Hiatt Foundation through the Mississippi Museum of Art. By April of 2012 I found myself crossing the Tiber on a daily basis to study Rome’s abundance of Renaissance art. I did this not as an art historian but as a time traveling apprentice, re-evaluating contemporary painting in it’s western birthplace.
Since ancient times Trastevere, across the Tiber, was the neighborhood in Rome where foreigners were allowed to live. During the Renaissance it was also the place where artisans and craftsman had their work and living space. This neighborhood serendipitously happened to be the place where I stayed as a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome. To be able to see the art and architecture up close in the context which they were created for was a revelation and changed my relationship to the art.
The work in this exhibition is purposely influenced by my Italian experience. This is exemplified through the vertical hierarchy in composition and organization, the effectiveness through saturation and contrast in color, also through the architectural approach in scale, function and presence. In my work I am exploring interconnectedness and the process of painting itself. By simplifying mark making, color choice and construction, emphasizing and making visible the human hand I am trying to touch on the physical and visceral possibilities and limitations of painting.
Since ancient times Trastevere, across the Tiber, was the neighborhood in Rome where foreigners were allowed to live. During the Renaissance it was also the place where artisans and craftsman had their work and living space. This neighborhood serendipitously happened to be the place where I stayed as a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome. To be able to see the art and architecture up close in the context which they were created for was a revelation and changed my relationship to the art.
The work in this exhibition is purposely influenced by my Italian experience. This is exemplified through the vertical hierarchy in composition and organization, the effectiveness through saturation and contrast in color, also through the architectural approach in scale, function and presence. In my work I am exploring interconnectedness and the process of painting itself. By simplifying mark making, color choice and construction, emphasizing and making visible the human hand I am trying to touch on the physical and visceral possibilities and limitations of painting.
the world of promises 2011
Making a painting is making fiction. A two dimensional construction that is illusion and reality at the same time.
When I make a painting I try to tell a story, not one with a particular comprehensive narrative, but one made up of different references and from different perspectives. A story rooted in art history, social function, and politics, also in visual effectiveness and experiences. A story that leans on the formal and physical aspects of painting and its place in art today.
In this black and white series the world of promises I wanted to focus on the process of painting itself, emphasizing and making visible basic painterly elements by simplifying mark making and color choice and, as always, the elimination of linear perspective.
Taking out the seductive quality of color lays bare the grey spectrum in all its richness, which allows for the horizontal and vertical brushstrokes to dominate and show off the rhythmic organization that creates spatial depth and shifting vocal points. Though the intuitive and deliberate mark making drives the logic of the painted construction, at its core lies a myriad of choices about tonality and movement, chaos and stillness, that determines the limitations and possibilities of the painting.
By trying to explore the essence of painting I end up with paintings that are undeniably themselves.
When I make a painting I try to tell a story, not one with a particular comprehensive narrative, but one made up of different references and from different perspectives. A story rooted in art history, social function, and politics, also in visual effectiveness and experiences. A story that leans on the formal and physical aspects of painting and its place in art today.
In this black and white series the world of promises I wanted to focus on the process of painting itself, emphasizing and making visible basic painterly elements by simplifying mark making and color choice and, as always, the elimination of linear perspective.
Taking out the seductive quality of color lays bare the grey spectrum in all its richness, which allows for the horizontal and vertical brushstrokes to dominate and show off the rhythmic organization that creates spatial depth and shifting vocal points. Though the intuitive and deliberate mark making drives the logic of the painted construction, at its core lies a myriad of choices about tonality and movement, chaos and stillness, that determines the limitations and possibilities of the painting.
By trying to explore the essence of painting I end up with paintings that are undeniably themselves.
All paintings are acrylic on canvas unless otherwise noted.
