The focus of my work surrounds questions of existence through desire. Superficially, it deals with issues of beauty and the awkwardness of unnameable shapes; however, the symbolism within the work is far more psychological. Methodically developing a visual language that abstracts the carnal nature of the topic of desire while drawing heavily from post Lancanian psychoanalytic theories, I create portraits of subconscious mental landscapes and translate them to canvas. There are no objects of desire in my work, there are only the shells without any interiority, only shapes, or empty signifiers; the paintings are thus about the unfulfillable perfection of the objet petite (the true kernel of desire).

To accurately represent these imagined true kernels the paintings necessitate a perfect surface, and I deal with the frustration of there being no attainable perfection by ripping open that surface to expose the raw energy below. But like the perfect surface and satiation of desire the passion of the rip is an illusion. I employ the discordance between the aesthetic satisfaction derived from obsessive surface qualities of the paintings and the unequivocal nature of the compositions to captivate interest in the shapes. Each piece must attract the gaze of a viewer long enough to allow questions to be asked and meaning to be construed. Spatial illusions in my work are superficial and must be shown as such. It is the destruction of illusion as an act of creation through obstruction that I find interesting.

I find our perception of the world to be completely individual, each experience shaping how we see. I strive to create visual enigmas, relying on the ambiguity and awkwardness of these unnameable shapes to allow the viewer to confront the art on their own terms. I rely on the superficial to hide the subversive; I rely on the surface to obscure the concept; I rely on the concept to consume the work; and all for an understanding of why.

Artist Highlights

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