Art is many things to me: a refuge, a daily ritual, a medicine for the mind, a vehicle for learning, a secret code, a public diary, a connective tissue, a transporter, a suit of armor, a vulnerable display. Above all, art is an instrument for re-enchanting a disenchanted world. While I enjoyed making pictures as a child, I did not begin to explore art seriously until my late teens when a painter friend introduced me to modern art movements and figures like Egon Schiele, Art Brut, Kurt Schwitters, Abstract Expressionism and the “combines” of Robert Rauschenberg. I immediately fell in love with their spirit of play and inventiveness often disregarding conventions about the materials and aesthetics deemed appropriate to fine art.
My studio practice still draws on these early inspirations focusing primarily on non-objective abstraction through the technique of collage. In some cases it is the simple pleasure of re-purposing fragments in new compositional arrangements. In others, I am intrigued by the relationships between parts and wholes, how even the smallest additions or subtractions can dramatically shift our view of larger scales. There is also the aesthetic attraction of unique fault lines and contrasts which present the eye with interesting visual structures to contemplate.
I typically begin with several paintings and monoprints composed on various papers and materials. I then develop compositions on larger supports with torn and cut fragments. As the composition unfolds I am constantly seeking interesting contrasts in color, shape, surface treatment and dimensions. When the picture has achieved a certain tension and fragile balance of elements I consider it finished. The process is experimental, spontaneous and tactile often drawing inspiration from touching and observing surfaces in the world around me. Like a diary entry, abstract collage offers an alternative way of ordering and staging these chaotic fragments of experience into compelling visual structures. Believing that stories are embedded in the shapes of things, I approach my work with a deep curiosity about the nature of all structures, how they have evolved and how meaning is channeled through the relationships of their parts.
Personal Bio
I am a self-taught artist born and raised in Tampa, Florida. As a child I was passionate about history and art which I often explored by poring over large books filled with paintings and drawings of ancient civilizations and battles. My dream growing up was to travel and see the many historic places I had read about. At 18 I used the savings from an afterschool job to backpack across Europe from Amsterdam to Budapest, visiting Germany, northern Italy and Austria along the way. It was a life changing experience for me. While enrolled as a history major and later adjunct lecturer at the University of South Florida I continued exploring art independently joining local exhibitions and events. In 2008 I accepted a Duke University scholarship to study early modern European History and completed a doctoral dissertation on artisan craft guilds and scientific culture in late Renaissance Italy. Since then I have pursued studio art professionally participating in several juried shows. From 2016 to 2022 I also served as an art instructor serving children and families at the Hispanic Outreach Center of Clearwater, Florida. I currently reside in Greensboro, NC with my partner, Jessica, and two dogs, Charlie and Lenny.
