ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Despite the efforts of art theorists, critics and historians to fill libraries with ideas concerning the nature of art, words always fall short, and in many cases miss the mark entirely. Words and painting, it seems, have never made good companions. This is particularly true of abstract painting, which tends to resist accurate or meaningful interpretation. At the end of the day, there is only the painting, the viewer, and silence. This enigma is what sustains my interest in abstract painting.

Although my work often contains external references—a horizon line for example—it is not so much concerned with the nature of landscape as it is with the process of painting and the expressive potential of paint. The natural or built environments are used as starting points from which each painting evolves and transforms, until the external references are subdued by elements of abstract expressionist painting. The paintings are ultimately explorations of line, color, form and gesture, and their ability to elicit emotional or spiritual responses. They are intended to be viewed as one would listen to instrumental music, without feeling a need to attach a meaning or narrative.