Artist Statement

I make abstract paintings, collages, and other multi-media works that reflect experiences of belonging, purpose, transcendent experiences, and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. I have kept a journal most of my life and see my art making as an extension of this journaling.

The mystical and interior life are always interesting to me: how do we make meaning for ourselves? What are the symbols and experiences that take us out of the ordinary and connect us to people, communities, and the sublime, indifferent natural world around us? As a queer person, these questions are of personal and particular interest to me.

My use of color is informed by the Tarot, and my fascination with creation, archetype, and relationships are informed by Torah and by Greek mythology. I sometimes remake the Catholic symbols of my childhood and adolescence as a means of reconciling my queer identity with growing up in the Catholic church. I often try to get back to the feeling that certain classical music pieces inspire in me: like the feeling I had as a very young child when I first heard Handel’s Messiah.

I often work in a series on paper or wood responding to the marks on one work to inform how I put marks on another, and I often up-cycle one work into another as a way of conserving materials. I use acrylic paints and mediums, found papers, and print my own collage materials and images using a gel plate. To avoid the desire to “paint a picture,” I often cover the paint with paper and use a brayer to make marks or spread paint on a gel plate and place the paper on top so that I cannot see exactly where or what the mark will be. Painting on wood and then sanding back layers of paint is another way to lose control of the mark. Ultimately, I am always trying to make the work simpler than the complexities of belonging, purpose, transcendent experiences, and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.