Fan Paintings

Inspired by the book Driving Passion by Peter Marsh, 1989, and the stanza of a1960’s folk song about “…plastic Jesus, on the dashboard of my car”, my relationship with organized religion is examined through the arena of the American car culture.

The automobile serves as the encapsulated stage for the battle between good and evil, institutionalized superstition (the crystal rosary) and rebellious identity (Playboy bunny air freshener);
the place where contradictory value systems symbolically coexist through the paraphernalia hanging from the rear view mirror.

Vase Paintings

Fully embracing the decorative nature of art making, updated narratives on neo-classical vases, are set against a gold leaf background to maximize the tension between the two-dimensional picture plane and the three dimensional illusion as well as to invite audience interaction with the viewing plane.

The lips, handles and bowls of the vases are designed to extend the narrative beyond the figural band.

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Classical Figures Paintings

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.

Drawings

A Faculty Development Leave allowed me to investigate the medium of black and white conte on toned charcoal paper and to explore the impact of color on narrative.

The nude male figure was removed from the museum setting and allowed to enter a more private domestic realm where the interplay of mirrored images together with a sense of another person being just out of sight, yet in the same space invites the viewer to participate in the scene.

Reflections Paintings

In response to the intimacy of the the conte drawings, my interest in de-sensationalizing the nude resulted in placing the figure in an intimate domestic setting, allowing me to combine my love of the nude male figure, decorative objects, and tromp l'oeil effects.

Add to this mix Claudio Bravo's comment that "If someone paints a nude and there's no effect on the viewer in erotic terms, then it's a bad nude." By suggesting that the viewer is in the same room with the nude, the images beg the question of the viewer -- Is the viewer merely a viewer? Is the viewer a voyeur?

Or is the viewer a participant or a partner? The reactions that arise in the viewer tell you about yourself and your fundamental values and beliefs.

Postcards

Postcard project from the Visiting Artist/Visiting Scholar program at the American Academy in Rome.