Free From the Shadow

Artist Statement

My practice encompasses painting, mixed media, sculpture, and new media, all of which I use to explore themes of time, impermanence, identity, and place.

My work is characterized by a personal visual language that creates intellectual and emotional connections with the viewer. I use materials sourced from various cities around the world but mostly from my city Los Angeles to create a visual vernacular that is both familiar and foreign. My work is influenced by 20th-century art movements such as Nouveau Réalisme and Art Informel, and I have coined the terms Neo-Urban Expressionism and Urban Informalism as quantifiers for my physical practice.

My process involves "harvesting" information from the environment of the city and reassembling materials into compositions that reflect my interest in the beauty of flaws and the discarded. A central tenet in my practice is that materials are witness. I balance formulaic parameters with action-oriented processes, allowing immediacy and accidental interventions to play a strong role in the making of my work. My artist hand is discernible in all my work, serving as a symbol of both humanity and the distressed conditions and environments that inspire me.

Though I do not intentionally approach my work through a filter of social commentary, I am keenly aware that the poetry of the metropolis leads to this conversation. My work is contemporary and academic, addressing impermanence, coded vernaculars, identity, and place. Through my art, I strive to create a visual dialogue that transposes from walls, streets, and a personal language, fostering a connection between contemporary art and cultural intersectionality.