| BIO | STATEMENT | RESUME | ONLINE GALLERY
When visiting a museum I look for pentimenti, which is when certain colors become transparent over time. Pentimenti allows the viewer to see under-painting: for example, the gesture of the hand before it was repainted. Furthermore, X-rays of paintings, often found in art history texts, inform recent work. Examples of these technical influences can be seen in the paintings Before Tea and After Tea . By working in thin layers, the process of change and correction is apparent the finished paintings. I generally work without models or photographic references because of a fascination with memory; specifically, that which we choose to remember and that which we choose to forget. The alterations of memory give some of the paintings a dream-like quality, though dreams are rarely used as subject matter.
Books and periodicals provide subject matter for the some of the paintings. I attempt to set up my life in a way that promotes creative practice: for example, as an adult I have never had a TV. Studio time is divided between personal narrative paintings and a five-year project called The Last Supper . Using mineral paint fired onto porcelain, The Last Supper illustrates 200 final meal requests of US death row inmates. While the plates are quite different than the paintings, both are observations of contemporary society. I am driven to the studio to make some sense of our world: painting as questioning and meditation. Andy Warhol said the artist of the future will simply point. I paint to point.
|
The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts Lawrence, KS 66045 785/864-3421 |
Copyright © 2008 by The University of Kansas |
