Artist’s statement:

My earliest childhood memories are those of painting with my grandfather and frequently visiting the Art Institute of Chicago where we would spend countless hours together. He taught me that everything we come in contact with has the potential of becoming a work of art. My grandfather and I would take walks together to hunt for “treasures” of discarded objects that later he would turn into beautiful collages and assemblages. It is those lessons I carry with me and –today- in my work I see his influence.

I have never been comfortable with expressing myself verbally. I am not one to strike up a conversation with a stranger, nor do I feel comfortable speaking to a group of people. Visual expression comes naturally to me; it is through this means I can best communicate with others and feel the most comfortable.

At a young age I became aware of the injustices being perpetrated in the world and was deeply disenchanted with the political process as a means of creating effective change in our global community. For me, becoming an artist was inevitable. Through the visual arts not only did I communicate my life’s passions, my fears, but I was also able to create a refuge from our world and temporarily dwell in a reality that was otherwise unattainable outside the realm of my art.

We all know that art has the power to communicate at the deepest human level, to move, disturb, provoke, inspire, and create change. My works are an offering, a communication on a visual level with you: the other or the audience. My style of painting is best described as “Neo-expressionism.” I choose to work with acrylic and watercolor; both of these mediums feel most appropriate. Acrylic allows me to use my fingers, to manipulate the paint, and because of this immediate and direct contact I am able to feel intimately close to my artworks. Watercolor allows me to travel back in time; the fluidity of the medium leads me to a Zen like state where –sometimes-I may find myself at the park with my grandfather painting landscapes and I am wishing that someday I could be as fine an artist as he is.

My art is about our humanity, our longings, our sufferings, our joys, and our frustrations. Sometimes it is a celebration of some particular aspect of life and sometimes an indictment of the complexities of modern urban life. Sometimes it is primal and sometimes conceptual, ancient and contemporary. My paintings are always inspired by my vision, driven by a sensual desire or impulse, conceived by a love of form, shaped by 20th century masters and executed with a reverence for bold, symbolic color, and expressive brushstrokes.