Artist’s Statements

“Crumbling” series  2016

Small-format paintings on repurposed vintage wall tiles depicting a bee and flower.

Acrylic ink, paint, pencil are applied to a fragile, thin layer of plaster.

The works are meant to encourage a closer look at the frailty of nature in view of current climatic concerns, as well as in the acceptance of the impermanence of all things.

Persian Pineapple  2015

The painting consists of several layers of different media, as well as layered references and meanings:

The image outlined in white paint is based on one of the earliest known hand grenades, dated from 10th century and of Byzantine production.  The white paint is layered over a simplified rendering in red paint of a fruit whose name became synonymous with “hand grenade” during the early 20th century’s World War I, i.e. “pineapple.”  Native to the Americas, the pineapple fruit was so named by Europeans in the 1600’s because to them it resembled a pine cone (piña in Sp.).  The Tupi people of the Amazon called the fruit “nanas” (excellent fruit).

The small, hand-thrown bomb was the given the name “grenade” because it also resembled a pomegranate (granada in Spanish).  The pomegranate originated in what is now Iran (formerly knowns as Persia), and was brought to the Americas by  the Spanish “settlers” in the late 16th century.  In this painting, the shape of a map of modern-day Iran/Persia is the topmost layer, outlined and filled in with glossy orange-red ink.

Over the years, the names of two delicious, nourishing non-Western fruits became debased as a weapon of war.

Untitled a and Untitled b 2015

From an exhibition curated by Miriam Hernández, “To Stop the Mind From Wandering”  2015:

The works comprising this exhibition have been selected for their restraint and focus, to suggest or perhaps even induce a state of meditation.  The viewer is invited to quietly contemplate their seemingly uncomplicated combinations of form, design and color.

These are visual attempts to quiet the mind from making random associations and to gently coax the eye/mind connection into watchful stillness.

Wake Up! 2014

Many of the works in the “Wake Up!” series are done on found repurposed bags, using ink-less calligraphy to write repetitions of mantras, both traditional ones or my own, serving as the base for the works.  Layered over the writing is ink and/or acrylic and other mediums.  Often prominently featured in the composition is an abstracted red geometric representation of a wrathful deity who encourages beings to confront our mortality, and to act with compassion toward all.