statement

Pliny the Elder claims that drawing originated in Greece. The lover of a young woman of Sicyon was about to depart. She saw that he was casting a shadow on the wall, and traced his shadow to remember him. In this story, artist, drawing and model spring into being simultaneously. A motive links them: the model is precious to the artist, and must shortly disappear. The drawing is a means of rebellion rebellion against departure, against loss, against time, which sweeps away every mortal thing. Since the age of myths, the problem of depiction has evolved. Now it is established that an image can be made which resembles a thing. But in what does this resemblance consist?

Lately, it has seemed to me that one can look at, and one can see. To look at is to retain priority, to cast a mild eye upon the object in all its physical parts, and grasp the appearance of those parts. It is necessary for the figurative artist to look at, but it is not enough. To see is to become secondary, to be subsumed in that which is beheld. To see is to begin to know, and to allow oneself to be shattered, to disappear.

The pursuit of seeing leads to the particular qualities of my paintings: sensuality, individuality, spirituality, and strangeness. Sensuality because I am depicting the physical. Individuality because I am not depicting humanity in general, but rather the specific people I work with and draw inspiration from. Spirituality because understanding leads from the flesh to the spirit. And strangeness because the spirit wraps a mystery, which is unknowable.

bio

born: 1975, Toronto, Canada

education

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA, 1995

selected awards/honors

Finalist, Portrait/Figure category, The Artist's Magazine 27th Annual Art Competition, Sharon Sprung, juror, 2010
Finalist, Portrait/Figure category, The Artist's Magazine 26th Annual Art Competition, Nelson Shanks, juror, 2009

selected publications

Poets/Artists, feature, June 2011
Artnews, quoted, Nothing Like the Real Thing, December 2010
American Art Collector, Art of the Nude, October 2010
International Artist, article, August 2010

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Brew House SPACE 101 Gallery: small neighbors/Microbiota, Pittsburgh, PA, 2011

selected group shows

Gallery Mess/Saatchi Gallery: Rotating Group Show, London, England, 2011
950 Hart Gallery: Ancient Evenings, New York, NY, 2011
Hilliard Gallery: The American Landscape, Kansas City, MO, 2011
Picture Art Foundation: On Being Human, Carson, CA, 2011