About

In an era marked by information overload, looming uncertainty, and the seemingly constant threat of catastrophe, my artistic exploration echoes the emphatic sentiments of art historian Dan Byrne-Smith, who asserts, “the importance of simple acts of imagining things as other than they seem cannot be overstated.” In this vein, the paintings and sculptures I make borrow from idealistic utopian art movements of the past, exploring the intersection between idealism and pragmatism, optimism and doubt, uncertainty and order, cohesion and chaos.

These often abstract compositions are aspirational in their intent, but also reveal underlying uncertainty and frailty. Inspired by Constructivist theories of abstraction, utopian architecture, ancient Jewish philosophy, and the radical potential in re-configuring the familiar in unfamiliar ways, these works blend the tangible with the ephemeral. Layering personal photographs with personal artifacts, found insects and natural objects encased in resin, alongside sculpted and photographic references to sacred architecture, sci-fi structures, as well as elements inspired by the everyday built environment, I am interested in creating a dialogue between the fantastical and the familiar.

These artworks intend to serve as apertures through which new meanings and unexpected possibilities can emerge, offering glimpses into alternative cosmologies and fantastical configurations. Through abstract forms and densely layered imagery, my work considers how the relationship between the physical and metaphorical systems that shape our experience might be reassembled, and the vital role of imagining realities beyond the apparent. Like the maquettes of invented machines by Leonardo DaVinci or Vladimir Tatlin’s revolutionary tower, I endeavor to give form to utopian aspirations and create alternative structures of perception and experience.

I live and work in Atlanta, GA and am an Assistant Teaching Professor of studio art at Emory University. I received a BFA from the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ and an MFA and art history MA at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. Recent exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the National Centre for Contemporary Arts, in Minsk, Belarus, Usak Archeology Museum in Usak, Turkey, and the Kokoka International House Gallery in Kyoto, Japan. I have been awarded grants by the Minnesota State Arts Board and have attended artist residencies, most recently at the Vermont Studio Center.


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