Artist Statement
In recent years, I’ve focused on ocean-centric works in which I pay tribute to the awe and wonder I feel for nature, while responding to concerns such as the prevalence of plastic marine debris, coral bleaching, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events. The mindset of interconnectedness is the foundation of my work.
Since early childhood visits to my grandparents’ home on Massachusetts’ South Shore, I’ve been fascinated by the ocean and the intertidal zone—the area where the ocean meets the land between high and low tides. In 2020, the shock of discovering a Florida beach heavily polluted with plastic trash prompted me to pick up as much plastic trash as I could carry, while documenting the process. I later transferred the images of my beach clean-up project onto single-use plastic trash in a series of abstract wall works that were embellished with painted marks and bits of plastic stitched into the surface. That series led to ocean-inspired paintings and installations.
Close observation of the natural world informs my work, but rather than duplicating what I see, my intention is to replicate a way of seeing. The complex surfaces of my paintings are designed to draw the viewer in for prolonged looking, to facilitate moments of mindfulness in anxious times.
I begin my paintings with loose washes of color sprayed with water, to minimize control and facilitate unexpected results. I then layer the washes with marks and patterns, until the composition emerges. I take this improvisational approach to painting in an effort to optimize my sense of discovery.
My sculptures and installations are comprised of unconventional materials. The components of these works are often meticulously stitched together or covered with intricately painted marks and patterns. I deliberately engage in labor-intensive processes that facilitate a meditative state conducive to reflection.
Within my layered works, harmony rubs up against discord, creating a subtle friction that makes space to think about our impact on the environment.