Study for Mural 4, 2007 Sink Strainers, Wax

Using tactile and sensory elements such as wax, mirrors, sound, layers of paint and found materials, I create works that deconstruct materiality to discover new meanings. For me, the process of making art is as important as the final product. I’m interested in getting to the core of materials and do this by melting, pouring, carving, layering, and using various reductive techniques to transform a surface.

Because my work is driven by formal and sensory explorations it exists in many forms: painting, sculpture, mixed media, installation and process art.

I create patterns and grids that involve geometry, and through repetition generate rhythms, harmonies and vibrations. The Zen aesthetic and its emphasis on simplicity and naturalness also plays a significant role in my work as I strive to attain purity in form. Similar to Zen, much of my work is based in contradictions: the organic and the technological, the corporeal and spiritual, order and chaos.

Through the use of wax and other materials, I am able to explore the sensation that something familiar elicits when it is viewed through a window or from behind a veil, revealing something new about its character. Wax in particular allows me to achieve a level of transparency, depth and fluidity, which I use to communicate some of the ethereal qualities inherent in color and forms.

Controlled accidents become an important part of the process and infuse the work with a sense of playfulness. The textural and tactile qualities of the finished work reflect the mark-making process and the environment in which it is created. Wax changes in response to time and the elements, making it an ideal material to utilize for studying decomposition and temporality.

Study for Mural 5, 2007 Sink Strainers, Wax