ARTIST STATEMENT

My practice as both a visual artist and musician revolves primarily around the ways in which we as individuals define and construct our own personal understanding of self. This elusive concept of self-awareness is what drives and inspires the many diverse paths with which my work explores. Art allows me to deconstruct my ideas, thoughts, and beliefs into more physical and tangible experiences that I can investigate from numerous perspectives and viewpoints. By physically making a painting, composing a piece of music, or working with others towards achieving a common artistic goal, I’m able to actively find meaning through the process of creating. The journey itself becomes a learning experience that opens my eyes to new possibilities and directions that can be taken in my work. I consider myself to be a process-oriented artist who works in an interdisciplinary manner in order to freely travel wherever my ideas may take me. By allowing my art to cross disciplinary expectations and rules, my ideas can grow organically and become informed by many different processes and approaches.

My work is strongly tied to a narrative tradition that emphasizes storytelling and the sharing of personal experiences in order to reach universal themes and emotions. Embracing a humanistic philosophy, my work utilizes people as the primary subject matter within my compositions and hopes to strike a chord with others through empathy and compassion. My visual work uses the human form as an entry point into a dialogue about identity, personality, and understanding of self. Strongly influenced by the resurgence of figurative work done during the second half of the 20th century, my practice hopes to embrace an approachable human element that encourages a diverse audience to engage with my art. A large concern for me in my practice is to make work that can be understood and appreciated by both people in and outside of the art world.

My work seeks to uncover the hidden stories and universal themes that we all find ourselves part of as participants in this shared human experience. By drawing from personal events and situations that have shaped my life, I hope to reach an audience that can find deeper meaning and understanding within their own lives while engaging with my work. I’m interested in the interactions that we have as individuals and how this shapes the way in which we construct our definition of self. In addition to one’s larger social, racial, and cultural identity the way in which we engage with the world around us influences our perceptions and beliefs about everything. Our experiences shape who we are, what we do, and how we piece together our individual relationship with life itself. Making art, for me, is an opportunity to share my thoughts with others and engage in the process of learning about myself and understanding who I am as an individual.