statement

The concept of ‘place’ is a persistent theme in my work.

A stubbornly homesick child, I developed inflated attachments to my environments, often filling with panic whenever a space felt unfamiliar or inhospitable. A series of diseases in my bones intensified this anxiety, as I began to think of the body as hostile and dangerous, and started believing strongly in the presumed peace that existed in the elements surrounding my body.

When home wasn't accessible to me, the nature of whatever space I was inside grew salient, and it became standard practice for me to qualify a place based on whether it felt “good” or “protected.”

With so much of my inner world dependent on the perceived quality of my outer one, I developed an interest in the built environment and became a writer specializing in architecture and urban design. Clarifying the psychology and humanity behind well-conceived spaces has been the impetus behind my design writing; my paintings pursue this same understanding.

The environments depicted in my paintings are speculative, using the fantastical interplay between shapes, colors, and layers to communicate abstract places that feel comfortable and resolved. Implied masses, suggested cross-sections, and horizon lines convince the eye of earth and infrastructure, while elements like canvas texture, tonal opacity, and an emphasis on the historic mark reinforce the painting’s physical nature, and its ultimate function as an object inside of a room.