Artist Statement

My work encompasses paintings, drawings, and sculptures. 

Through these pieces, I transcend the boundaries between humans and animals, intertwining the inner workings of both the human and animal psyche. I offer a voice to the voiceless, a soft harmony to experience, a resting place for exhaustive interactions. To me, art is not a form of isolation, but rather, a conjunction of universes. 

I paint with acrylic, beginning with a light wash of a unifying color and typically saving the background for last. I love acrylic because of the creative freedom it offers with colors. Color enthalls me, it is a generative force and propels the evolution of my art. I draw with charcoal and graphite, switching between different hardnesses when need be. I sculpt with clay, building up the figure after creating a base form. I’ve included in my portfolio Animism which deals with many of my recurring themes and poetic convictions: the body is animal while being an animal.

One of my key influences is the Italian Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo and his approach to representing the human experience. I admire his ability to incorporate edible objects into configurations simultaneously intriguing and weird: portraits of noblemen composed of fruits and vegetables. In my self-portrait Eternally Bound I replace parts of my image with specific animals: a snake wrapped around my neck,  a bird’s wing in place of my shoulder. I focus on the armadillo to emphasize its spiritual meaning of protection and boundaries in my personal symbolic universe. Each animal I paint has personal significance. I’ve overcome psychological battles, and I let that inform my practice, allowing my work to connect with the audience with candor and honesty on an emotional level. With animals shining through in this painting, I present an attachment to my past that I carry around with me. 

I derive inspiration from the bravery I have experienced in my life. I am interested in this theme of allowing for other species to allude to myself, and I hope to explore these aspects in future works. I seek to elucidate more of my past and present experiences within my art, deploying different mediums such as pastels or architectural materials.