My latest paintings explore the idea of what lies beneath the surface and what lingers on the top — both psychologically and in society. I also explore surrealistic experiences and my memory of dreams as a child. By evoking a whimsical and surreal attitude, my works reflect a subtle commentary on the absurdity of modern-day life.
In my work I work with both color and monochrome tones. The color I use, especially the pinks and reds, propel the viewer into a shocking world where they come face to face with the paintings’ story—however interpretive that story may be. On occasion I take an opposite tack and work with a monochrome palette. Unlike the shocking pinks the black, white and gray pigments have a visual sound that can be turned up to a screaming surreal volume.
In many of these paintings I rely on my memories and dreams of when I was a child, still vivid so many years later: the dream of an elementary schoolyard, the memory of a misplaced bike, figures moving about the canvas in awkward motions, religion gone wrong as observed by a ten-year-old. Like a child I experiment with paint, drawing hesitant lines and roughly drawn symbols such as eyes, bikes, dogs, swirly marks and scrawls. With these paintings I reenter my long distant childhood and share the experience, evoking an air of mystery longing to be solved.
Many of these pieces incorporate elements of deconstruction: through a process of layering, scraping, and rediscovery I create abstract landscapes that exist in a realm between the familiar and the surreal. They resemble old roadside signs or walls that have been painted over repeatedly and attacked by the elements, with fragments of previous layers being exposed. It’s a visual metaphor about the accumulation (or destruction) of shared experiences over time. I ask the viewer: what are the elements doing? How are they connected? How are they disassociated and what do they want the work to mean?
Ultimately through whimsy, irony, and deconstruction my work creates stories about the absurdity and irony of life, the truth of childhood, and the confusion of being an adult. I strive to create works that are engaging and intellectually provocative — pieces that reveal new facets with each viewing and continue to evolve in the mind of the observer long after they have left the gallery.