About

In my work, I am exploring experiences that result in grief; death, generational illness, and aging. Painting allows for a quick, satisfying expression of an idea that a pencil sketch cannot. Jumping onto a fresh sheet of paper or a primed canvas, I can sketch, block in colors, wipe some away, re-evaluate, add more paint, and repeat. The process is nonlinear, flowing haphazardly like the lines and marks in the paintings themselves. 

The work takes the form of large abstract acrylic paintings on canvas and paper. I mix a wide range of colors that range from moody purples to bright pinks, balancing the cool and warm to play with the concept of duality. The painting begins with a thin wash, and the layers become more stable over time. Littered with flattened yet recognizable objects and symbols that call back to the domestic, vermicular filaments weave in and out of the spaces, moving freely like a stream of consciousness, leading the viewer through the piece. The abstract spaces, constructed with staircases, doors, and other architectural features, bridge us to an otherworldly plane of existence.  This indirect embodiment and building up of a psychological space that is simultaneously familiar yet not, refers to the futility of memory, characterized by the haziness of grasping for these forgotten moments. The tension between recognizable vs. unrecognizable, geometric vs. organic, and washy vs. thicker paint application is deeply embedded into the paintings, allowing almost anyone to deconstruct the spaces and feel the inherent conflict.

Through these fluttery, active spaces, there is a strong sense of an attempt to reconnect with the past – like the continuous, meandering lines, the viewer can move around the composition and begin to understand the expressive methods of trying to reconnect with lost people, time, and space.