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My work has always been about relationships. Whether it is how colors, objects, or shadows relate to each other, these compositional relationships are evident in all the genres of which I work. “Complex Identity” represents the search as an artist to express ideas through symbolism and metaphors. Each work is rooted in personal allegories and depicted with universal tools. Chairs, colors, mountains, snakes, ladders, and male imagery are some of the vocabulary providing the visual language for my artwork.

Chairs and furniture have been always been familiar subject matter within my work. Recently, I distilled chairs to simple stick forms to illustrate the human element. A chair not only personifies the body with its arms and legs, but can present a sense of movement as well. Even though the chair forms are simple they still become complex metaphors in their environment.

While the uses of complementary colors have always been important in my art, lately, I have assigned specific meanings to colors. Warm colors often instill passion, anger, and love, while cool colors are attributed to coldness, isolation, or despair. Color can also apply to political parties, religion, or opposing thoughts. The juxtaposition of hot and cold colors creates another complex layer of these allegories.

Symbols of mountains, snakes, and ladders represent the barriers, fears, paths one has in life. I find these metaphors to be visually interesting most of all and the combination of different symbols creates a varied connotation in each composition. While some symbols mean fear or challenge to one, to another can mean the opposite. Representing these symbols in three dimensions as well as two dimensions also creates a visual report between works.

Most recently my work deals with the male stereotypes and roles. My fascination with athletics, strength, and protection along with the technique of silk screening is fitting vocabulary to explore these issues. The appropriation of male imagery and printing it on forms like trophies, protective equipment, and vessels marries my visual aesthetic with personal symbolism.

I struggle with my identity as a person and I, too, as an artist struggle to sort out these complexities. This work may seem disjointed at first, but as a body represents the whole. The visual complexity of subjects reflects the complex personal relationships that inspire them and the complexity of my own identity.

Big Brother

2005
oil on canvas
92 x 92 cm

Snake in the Grass

2006
oil on canvas
92 x 92 cm

Improvisation (Getting from One Place to Another)

2006
oil on canvas
92 x 92 cm

Falling Again

2005
oil on canvas
92 x 92 cm

"Chapter 1 (it appeared one day out of nowhere)"

2007
40 x 40 cm

"Chapter 2 (Into our home it was welcomed)"

2007
giclee print
40 x 40 cm

"Chapter 3 (It shared our meals and friendship)"

2007
giclee print
40 x 40 cm

"Chapter 4 (It soon became aggressive and angry)"

2007
giclee print
40 x 40 cm

"Chapter 5 (It broke everything in sight including trust)"

2007
giclee print
40 x 40 cm

"Chapter 6 (All that was left was a pile of rubble)"

2007
giclee print
40 x 40 cm

Angry Guest

2007
oil on canvas
92 x 92 cm