Artist Statement
My artwork interrogates the traditional notion of painting through the manipulation of imagery, substrates, and frames. I formulate new ways of experiencing paintings by taking them off the wall, giving them a three-dimensional form, or adapting them into time-based projects. Paint, textiles, wood, and clay are my primary materials because they embody layers of cultural meaning to respond to.
I have a compulsion for reusing failed or abandoned paintings along with discarded scraps of fabric, plywood, and canvas. Partly I like the challenge of devising something new, but I also think of artwork as bodies that are in a constant state of becoming. The visceral quality of paint is why I indulge in the language of mark-making, using actions like dripping, dashing, spilling, and swiping. I use oil paint for its classicist aura and acrylic paint for its elasticity. I merge hobbyist techniques into my work which is why I incorporate scrapbooking materials like glitter, stickers, decorative paper, metallics and fluorescent paint.
