Artist Statement

It is human nature to search for an individual connection to the landscape. My work is an investigative study in the idea of place and location, and how we as humans define our sense of space.

My association with place has always been a transitory one. Having moved from one city to another quite frequently throughout most of my life, migrating has had an impact on my sense of stability. With each new place that I reside, mapping the location and finding my bearings is critical to my acclimation. My work is derived in part from this exploration. By combining various architectural references, and the negative space in and around them, I am creating a newly constructed edifice. This new architectural landscape is a disorienting amalgamation of the built environment and a renegotiation of our understanding of spatial relationships.

I use jarring and seemingly odd combinations of color to disorient the viewer and confuse the relationship of figure to ground. Using simultaneous contrast, a phenomenon of color theory, I enhance this juxtaposition. Layering imagery — whether with paint or drawing material — allows me to destabilize the viewer's preconceived notion of place. Through my exploration of materials with paint and color, I am establishing a dialogue about place and our consistently fluctuating positions in it.