Artist Statement

Through my practice, I am able to manifest my regard for reality as a psychological rather than a cultural dynamic. I see the artist’s role as restating the internal psychological object through a language of images that make that object relevant to humanity. The images themselves come from both within my imagination and from the natural and manmade environment around me.

My paintings come out of personal experience, including conscious and unconscious dynamics. None of this is “coded” into the work, nor do the paintings simply embody my emotions. Rather, they visualize the process of self-revelation in a kind of internal dialogue. This process is visible within the multiple layers of poured acrylic paint that ultimately forms a “skin” on the surface.

From a family of psychoanalysts, my direct and indirect exposure to the practice of psychoanalysis has been long and sustained, providing me with an unusual awareness of my own consciousness, interaction with the world, and dreams. As a result, I know better than to recount my experience in my art; instead, I give visual form to what experiencing my life “feels” like-indeed, what the abstract concept of awareness feels like.

The embodiment of sensation and thought has always been the purpose of abstract art. In particular, the transcendental tradition in postwar American abstraction, from Mark Rothko with his large vibrant rectangular forms of color to Ross Bleckner, who with his earlier work blended abstraction with recognizable symbols, and Philip Taaffe who inspired my practice with his process based densely layered abstractions.

I fabricate my paintings by building up layers of poured acrylic paint and acrylic medium to create images that depict the complexities of human consciousness. Working intuitively, I apply the pigment and medium with brush and airbrush, rendering organic shapes across the canvas. I then pour more layers of medium over the shapes while refining and adding additional ones. This results in the depiction of a deep psychological space.

Over the past ten years I have produced over two hundred paintings in a variety of sizes ranging from two feet to six feet using this technique.
My most recent portfolio is a continuation of my process of pouring, employing new techniques and materials. The work continues to visualize my internal dialogue.