Statement

I am a young artist living in the West Side neighborhood of St. Paul. Much of my work in the past has been conceptual and often with an element of political satire. I also have a passion for working with oils. For the past few years or so my paintings have been primarily square-shaped and abstract. They have typically been one square foot or smaller and are covered with extremely thick paint. The paint is applied with a palette knife and rarely with a brush. Vibrant color is a key element in my work. Many of my paintings are monochromatic but have a small detail of a contrasting color that pops out.

My paintings explore the physicality of oil paint, color, surface, texture, topography, creative tensions, opposites or subtle differences, space, movement, organic shapes, feelings and moods, nature, and relationships with the world. When I begin a painting, the process is very intuitive. I focus more on the textures, composition, and colors than I do on “what the piece means”. I paint what I am feeling inside at that moment. Perhaps it is a form of meditation. The meaning of the painting comes to me later, sometimes while painting the piece, sometimes days after it is completed. Although most of paintings are oil paintings, I have some more experimental paintings that were created with ink, vegetable oil, and gloss medium. The idea behind using those materials is that water-based ink seperates from vegetable oil. The gloss medium was placed where the vegetable oil was poured in order to emphasize the texture and sheen of the oil.

My paintings are very different from my other work. My conceptual art has included anything from politically charged illustrations (when I was Editorial Illustrator for the MN Daily)to films and videos to installations. Baggage, a film I produced a few years ago, is an example of this type of work. This short film may appear serious and dark at first, but as the viewer continues to watch, the piece clearly is meant to be humorous. Baggage is a visual pun exploring the idea of the baggage one brings to a marriage.

My photography is primarily photojournalistic, with an emphasis on people in urban settings. My photography ranges from serious to humorous. My objective with my photography is to capture the essense, emotion, and personality of the individuals I photograph. I strive to capture a split second moment in space and time as it happens. I am not so interested in posed or static photography, though I have shot such images for commercial purposes. Life is not static, and I feel that photography meant to capture moments in life ought to reflect that fact.