Artist Statement:
From the fractalizing of my own creative consciousness and exploding love for life, I express and employ reproductive growth and the life-force energy that exists in all natural systems. I explore the interconnectedness of all things through repeated patterns in nature on a micro and macrocosmic scale, exposing the common shape of everything. In my use of color, pattern, and spiritual intention I accentuate cross-cultural and historical connecting threads and rituals. Honoring my ancestral roots and traditionally feminine art practices, I engage in craft mediums and textile to emphasize the majesty of reproductive labor and the expansive nature of feminine creation. My use of material embodies the sentiment of transformation, conservation, sustainability, and reuse through the collection and upcycling of industrial and domestic waste such as textiles, papers, plastics, and metals. My intention is to widen awareness of consumption and waste production while also providing a place to connect to the transformative organic beauty that exists in natural forms and compositions. Through the dark may we find the light. Bio: I have a memory from when I was four years old: I am sitting on the play structure in my backyard, looking up through the trees and thinking to myself, “Who am I?” and suddenly I recognize that I am a part of a greater life force that is inhabiting my body. Right around that age I was also introduced to art, yoga and the Beatles. My favorite Beatles lyric, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together,” reflects my obsession with this “life force”— the thing that connects and brings us all together. Born into a world-traveling Jewish hippie family of artists, performers, and activists, I grew up with community, creativity, nature, and adventure––ingredients that shape my artistic signature. I use a saturated and abstract visual language to reference recurring signs in nature, embodying the interconnected design of all things. I incorporate into my paintings organic patterns and textures, from moss growing on rocks to aerial views of mountain ranges and river beds. I look for repeated patterns, from the microcosmic to macrocosmic, in DNA, heart rates, neural pathways, wood grain, mycelial networks, tree branches, coast lines, lightning bolts, clouds, continent formations, and galaxies. I follow the timeless tradition of articulating “life force,” or the Divine, as done in artistic disciplines and movements throughout history. For example Romanticism’s focus on the sublime, Shamanic trance art, Buddhist Mandalas, Theosophist painting, mystic abstraction, and depictions of myths and deities. My artistic practice is uninhibited, playful, and intuitive. In my paintings and multi-media work I employ a universal language of bright colors and patterns, reflecting a connecting thread through different cultures and artistic movements. Using a variety of materials, I explore the intersection of painting, textiles, and installation. I build on the surface of my paintings to implement tactile 3D elements. I strive to express what I find to be spirited, kaleidoscopic, and celebratory to transport the viewer from a two-dimensional plane into an elevated visual experience that is joyous, hopeful, and life-affirming. |