I intend these images as mythological footprints of conflicting values in our times.
A present-day worship of the human body, the perfect physique – and its tangent to an ancient Greek concept, physical perfection as a mirror for spiritual perfection – is expressed here by the contrast of modern, life figures arrested in a moment of interaction with archetypal forms.
The potent effect of natural light falling on the sculpted stone gods and goddesses is a visual inspiration and establishes a classical mood in my dialogue with the viewer, which I have reinforced using Old Master painting techniques, a limited palette of color and elegant, tension-suffused compositions.
I have a passionate admiration for the sculptures of Greek and Roman gods and heroes from antiquity. These perfected beings are the “super heroes” of my pantheon of artistic masterpieces. My paintings are, in part, homage to these breathtakingly beautiful creations.
Even in their most fragmented condition these statues are astonishingly life-like. Fragmented bodies often frustrate exact identification of the original persona and, at the same time, invite imaginary completion by the individual viewer
I am fascinated with the current worship of the human body wherein athletes attempt to sculpt living flesh to match, and even outstrip, the perfection of these classical stone gods. Some devotees of this contemporary cult of the body go so far as to exploit illegal substances in order to surpass these inspiring deities, and risk disfiguring consequences. This risk exposes a fundamental perversion of the ancient Greek concept of physical perfection as a mirror of spiritual perfection.