2019 Artist Statement:

Inspired by nightmares and waking up to unrecognizable shapes of light, my early work aimed to capture blurred compositions of light and form. These paintings would come together as ambiguous abstractions that referenced specific locations, most often being cityscapes and reflections of light from storefronts. I was able to use my handicap of poor vision and paint without my contacts to transform obvious realities into a representation of my own experience. Through this process, I began to embrace perceived imperfections in an effort to capture the energy and vibrancy of these illusionistic and vaguely descriptive spaces. I used line work to lend order to a space while emphasizing architectural forms found in impermanent surface reflections.

Playing with perception and visual distortion, often using gentle shifts of color throughout a composition, my current work still extrudes information of line, shape, texture, and reflection from architectural references. Living in rural Iowa, I was starved of previous source material (and easy access to a city) and needed to find a way to be inspired again. I began using collage to revive my interest in the abstract ways architecture, line, color, and texture could be composed, and am using collage to inspire and influence my new body of work. Searching for comparable elements in architectural references and isolating specific remnants into categories allows me to reassemble abstract compositions that speak to a common theme found in the imagery. I find the collage compositions to resemble or act as a sketch and the oil paintings, inspired by selections from the collages, to be the final art piece – both equally interesting to the process of being a participant in my own constructions.

Artist Statement:

2012: Inspired by nightmares and waking up to unrecognizable shapes of light, my earlier work aimed to capture blurred compositions of light and form. These paintings would come together as ambiguous abstractions that referenced specific locations, most often cityscapes. I was able to use my handicap of poor vision and paint without my contacts to transform obvious realities into a representation of my own experience. Through this process, I began to embrace perceived imperfections in an effort to capture the energy and vibrancy of these illusionistic and vaguely descriptive spaces. I use line work to lend order to a space while emphasizing architectural forms found in impermanent surface reflections. I am interested in the mental process of experience and information retention while observing disconnection between the visual and mental process.

2013: The work during my second year of graduate school referenced sketches and notes as blueprint documentation of recorded events and experiences I would have in the city of Chicago. Embracing the ambiguous space that is created with limited information, revolving doors throughout the Windy City became the main source of line-work in my art. Toying with the emotions I was feeling in DeKalb, Illinois, and a personal experience I had trapped in a revolving door in Chicago, I began to paint more abstractly, painting acrylic line work between layers of epoxy resin. While resin seals the preceding layers, it also causes its surroundings to participate and hold a presence in the work, interacting as an additional, ever-changing surface.

2014 | 2015: Still playing with perception and visual distortion, often using gentle shifts of color throughout a composition, my work extrudes information of color, line, shape, texture, and reflection from architectural references. My most recent work is investigating reflections, brief moments of light, and their depiction in abstract compositions, evolving from the work in my MFA thesis show, Revision | Reveal.

reVision | reveal

Inspired by nightmares and waking up to unrecognizable shapes of light, my earlier work aimed to capture blurred compositions of light and form. These paintings would come together as ambiguous abstractions that referenced specific locations, most often cityscapes. I was able to use my handicap of poor vision and paint without my contacts to transform obvious realities into a representation of my own experience. Through this process, I began to embrace perceived imperfections in an effort to capture the energy and vibrancy of these illusionistic and vaguely descriptive spaces.

I use line work to lend order to a space while emphasizing architectural forms found in impermanent surface reflections. I am interested in the mental process of experience and information retention while observing disconnection between the visual and mental process. The work during my second year of graduate school referenced sketches and notes as blueprint documentation of recorded events and experiences I would have in the city of Chicago. Embracing ambiguous space that is created with limited information, revolving doors throughout the Windy City became the main source of line-work in my art. Toying with the emotions I was feeling in DeKalb, Illinois, and a personal experience I had trapped in a revolving door in Chicago, I began to paint more abstractly, painting acrylic line work between layers of epoxy resin. While resin seals the preceding layers, it also causes its surroundings to participate and hold a presence in the work, interacting as an additional, ever-changing surface.

Still playing with perception and visual distortion, often using gentle shifts of color throughout a composition, my new work extrudes information of color, line and shape, texture, and reflection from architectural references. World-renowned architect Jean Nouvel’s Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota has inspired the work I am currently embarking on for my MFA Thesis Show in March. I have been working on three-dimensional panels through a series of studies of the inside of the "Endless Bridge" interior hallway located in the Guthrie Theater. Through smaller wooden and foam-core models and studies, I have been researching how to implement Nouvel's idea of "forced perspective" and the idea of an ever-changing reflection into my work through the treatment of planar shifts, surface treatment, and reflective color.