Artist Statement

My paintings are not aiming for precision, nor to be photorealistic. That is because I like to play with the medium, and have duality in my nature. They are in some ways synesthetic currents that I drift down (and have to inevitably pull myself out of). In other ways they are ordered and sharp-edged.

Expressing myself through painting doesn’t necessarily come with ease. But it is the most powerful and multilateral tool that I have to explore deep wells of psyche. The process is intimate and private, which can sometimes lead to self-portraiture. This privacy comes in striking contrast to the scale of the work, often a loud (large) projection of a quiet plight.

I like to paint with strokes that hold motion, as I find the action of painting to be expressive in itself. The image is the remains of that performance. Too much technique can be the death of expression, so I am not strict with rules. I find that paint can be a form of tasseography - like reading fortune in tea leaves. If I let it do what it naturally wants to, it shows me a place I couldn’t intentionally access.

I don’t hide the process; I like to show the angles of thought, like the bones of a painting. Technical underdrawing and human anatomy together. One of no less importance than the other. So much of what I do relates to inner versus outer. Cover and uncover. A fascination with armor, shielding, translucency versus opacity. It holds the balance between being exposed while also blinding (or blocking) oneself.

A lot of the work is large looming figures imposing themselves in space. Seemingly they hide from the canvas itself as much as the viewer’s eye. Viewer becomes at once voyeur and reflection, looking into the mirror. The scale and directness allude to the absorbing strength of our feelings. But the paintings, showing their bones, are honest and vulnerable. That is an encouragement to relate deeply without self-judgement.