---Artist Statement---
In the four years I was in college the internet boomed then bursted, the Twin Towers collapsed, and America was on the brink of a war with Iraq. The future for my graduating class looked, well, grim. With such endless turmoils, perhaps it's no surprise that I ended up focusing on such a minute observation in my classes as the years passed. In the beginning, everyone took notes on paper, by the time I graduated at least 15% of students in an average class of 20 were using laptops. Knowing how technology grows exponentially, I knew my estimate would be obsolete in another four years.
In one particular class I watched a woman type feverishly as the professor expounded on a topic. I gazed at another student, his pen was busy, but it was clear he wasn't transcribing the professor's words. Being an artist, I knew he was doodling because his head was slightly bowed and his eyes were casually transfixed on his paper. I looked at my own notebook, sentences filled most of the page but they gave way to a complex drawing which began as a whimsical doodle. It was clear my drawing was a manifestation of my cloistered thoughts which were only unearthed by doodling. “What will happen to this cathartic act?”, I thought.
So many of us toss away our doodles or scribbles on paper napkins, but I've always felt they were art in purest form because it's done without self-criticism or fear of judgement from others. Rather than discarding the drawings I had accumulated in my college notebooks, I decided to paint them since I foresee this form of expression fading in the near future as laptops replace notebooks in our classrooms. More importantly, I hope others will be inspired to give their own subconscious drawings a second look.
I chose to mimic the original format by painting the background as a notebook and using only common ink colours: blue, black and red. Restricting my palette as well as using white space judiciously is an homage to traditional Japanese style, where simplicity is the focal point of a creation - an aesthetic I greatly admire in this age of more.
---CV/Resume---
EDUCATION
2002 Bachelor of Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
March 2007
“College Ruled Series”, Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
December 2010
"Hard Times: Then and Now", Blue Horse Gallery, Bellingham, WA
Themed group exhibition about the late 2000s recession.
August 2010
"Birds", Smith & Vallee Gallery, Edison, WA
Themed group exhibition.
January 2009
2009 Public Hanging, Blue Horse Gallery, Bellingham, WA
Group exhibition of local artists, winner selected by public drawing.
February 2008
“Cover Me”, Hampden Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Contemporary art exhibit about the lack of local arts coverage in the media.
Curator: Mo Ringey
May 2007
Cambridge Arts Association National Prize Show, Harvard University Art Museums Cambridge, MA
Juried show for the Cambridge Arts Association
Juror: Thomas W. Lentz
PUBLICATIONS
May 2013
"Your Art Here", Preview Massachusetts
May 2006
“Featured Artist”, Pioneer Valley Advocate
