I like to appropriate different themes and styles from the history of Western painting to create a complex commentary on my surroundings. Embedded within the surfaces of my paintings are the by-products of my life. Old clothing, pictures of relatives, and bar receipts, are some of the underpinnings of my work. I like Robert Rauschenberg’s idea that the materials he used “were meant to be a record of an immediate environment and time.” The painted and collaged items in my paintings, both physically and metaphorically layer the ideas of family, leisure, consumerism, and art into the tale of my own existence.
Over the past two years I have been painting at a table in my small Greenwich Village apartment. My living space is clean and orderly. My studio spaces are orderly, but rarely clean. This has affected the choice of materials and the manner in which my “moves” or techniques are executed. I’ve kept my general process, but at the same time, this transition has posed the question of “how do I maintain spontaneity in such a controlled working environment?”
When I start to work very little is predetermined. I allow myself the freedom to build a story directly on the picture plane. This improvisational approach is inspired by the Commedia dell’Arte. Just as the theatrical troupe could alter their dialogue and routines to satirize local scandals or regional tastes, I, too, give structure through what gets added, painted, or edited out. This selectivity, combined with the use of recycled ephemera, and textures calls to mind the compositions of Donald Baechler. I want my work to be sensuous; its painterly qualities consumed both visually and theoretically. Art functioning as a verb is what truly engages me in the creative process.
