Artist Statement

I am interested in the cyclical nature of rising and falling tensions within the studio. These frictions are both physical and psychological and are all consequences of wrestling with my materials.  Paint,wood, plastic drop cloths, plastic garbage bags and other forms of polyethylene plastic all contain their own properties and potential energies.  When these energies are coupled with my constitution in the studio, there is either a major conflict, or complacency.  There are times that a  more difficult interaction with materials yields great success in the form of physical art, as is true for utter failure. Other instances my materials and I dance effortlessly and we are able to create interesting entropic containers, breathe capsules and geomembranes, that have the illusion of being paintings.

Upon first glance, completed works have the guise of trompe l’oeil painting, furthur inspection reveals however, that the layers are physical materials and not a mirage. The order and content of the layers in each piece is confused by optics. I am interested in this uncertainty. I am investigating chaotic perception in my work by making unclear what material lies on which surface, what exists inside and out, all while trying to control the unyeilding materials in my studio. I see the bodies of paintings as containers of disorder that sometimes seek order, sometimes seek understanding, and sometimes bury comprehension.