Artist Statement
From glossy surfboards, custom automobile paint jobs, to slick laptop computers, our culture is fascinated with things that are smooth and shiny. I explore this phenomenon by crafting objects that present an inherent contradiction between what is base and precious.
My family has been in the garbage collection business for over 70 years. Having worked in the industry myself for a number of years I began making artwork from detritus, trash, and recycling. In the spirt of alchemy, I transform these base materials into precious objects. These works can be considered as small scale landfills, or as I like to call them, “micro-fills”.
The process of making the 3-Dimensional wall and pedestal works consists of accumulating discarded materials around the studio and home and repurposing them to achieve a new function of appealing to the senses of sight and touch. Spending years in the trash and recycling industry has helped me to see the aesthetic possibilities inherent in waste. I evaluate refuse in terms of weight, structure, and shape for inherent beauty and then recast it into a new future. To extend the process I cast some objects and turn them into porcelain sculptures or plaster objects. The garbage and recycling no longer exists in the porcelain works, but their form remains. Ultimately, the works take on a life of their own and become solitary objects in space that exude both a sense of humor and beauty.
The sum of my works are intuitive and process driven. Formally, I explore the relationship between balance, scale, texture, surface, form and color. I attempt to elevate all of my works to their own place of beauty, and in some instances, in spite of their own material value.
I have a multifarious approach to art making. My work consists of paintings, sculptures, drawings and ceramics. Pictorially and spatially I investigate the 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional realms, as well as explore the narrow space between these two worlds.
From glossy surfboards, custom automobile paint jobs, to slick laptop computers, our culture is fascinated with things that are smooth and shiny. I explore this phenomenon by crafting objects that present an inherent contradiction between what is base and precious.
My family has been in the garbage collection business for over 70 years. Having worked in the industry myself for a number of years I began making artwork from detritus, trash, and recycling. In the spirt of alchemy, I transform these base materials into precious objects. These works can be considered as small scale landfills, or as I like to call them, “micro-fills”.
The process of making the 3-Dimensional wall and pedestal works consists of accumulating discarded materials around the studio and home and repurposing them to achieve a new function of appealing to the senses of sight and touch. Spending years in the trash and recycling industry has helped me to see the aesthetic possibilities inherent in waste. I evaluate refuse in terms of weight, structure, and shape for inherent beauty and then recast it into a new future. To extend the process I cast some objects and turn them into porcelain sculptures or plaster objects. The garbage and recycling no longer exists in the porcelain works, but their form remains. Ultimately, the works take on a life of their own and become solitary objects in space that exude both a sense of humor and beauty.
The sum of my works are intuitive and process driven. Formally, I explore the relationship between balance, scale, texture, surface, form and color. I attempt to elevate all of my works to their own place of beauty, and in some instances, in spite of their own material value.
I have a multifarious approach to art making. My work consists of paintings, sculptures, drawings and ceramics. Pictorially and spatially I investigate the 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional realms, as well as explore the narrow space between these two worlds.
