COMMENTS ON FOUR BODIES OF WORK

Earlier Works

For me, truth resides in the immediacy of simple lines drawn true.  These pieces from my 2007 MFA portfolio for MassArt are primarily representational works on paper.  AT the time, my work was primarily figurative because I sought to comment on the human condition, especially cultural issues. This collection also includes works—prints, drawings, and photographs—motivated by the pure pleasure of interpreting my visual observations with graphic media. 

 

Herring Cove Series

This series is a response to an encounter with the battered body of a beached whale at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown, MA.  Returning to my studio, I felt compelled to find a cathartic method capable of representing the profundity of this event.  I began by creating dense thickets of energetic charcoal markings.  I continued by seeking latent forms within the chaos, defining and animating these ‘found objects’ with luminous pastels to create a numinous sense of the sacred.

 

Constructed World Series

This series seeks equipoise between the micro and macro elements of our world.  The works are ‘constructed’ layer-upon-layer by combining varied mark-making with complex paper inlays and collage.  Most pieces begin with a differentiated ground of boundless space created with mists of charcoal powder.  This expanse becomes a container for worlds within worlds composed of prepared inlays and papers, and elaborated by direct drawing. 

 

Current Directions

I continue to be fascinated by forms and complexities of the natural world that rarely admit the regularities of straight lines, orderly layers, and grids.  Having produced several bodies of work using the primacy of mark-making to represent natural principles, I seek to preserve the dynamism and mystery of my earlier bodies of work, while inventing new methods to uncover natural forces beyond my conscious awareness.