I have always drawn my life.  That is to say, I have found that no matter how pedestrian or mundane the main thrust of my daily routine, it is there within my rituals, thoughts, and dreams that I find the finest fodder for imagery.  As life would have it I have recently and quite unexpectedly become a new father, and if there is one overarching theme to my recent work it is the honest exploration of my own feelings toward becoming and being the patriarch.  The operative word here is honest, as it is easy to fall into a pit of sentimentality when dealing with images of your own children.  However, my intent was never to exalt the image of the father or the child.  There are enough Hallmark images of family out there without my adding to them.  While I must admit that there is an element of sentimentality to the nature between a parent and child, the truer nature of the relationship is infinitely more complex. Words often fall short of the mark when one attempts to verbalize this relationship in any overarching terms.  It is a relationship of affection and pride, yes; but also it is a relationship of complex fears, jealousy and control.  We tend to wrap this complex relationship into one four-letter word, love.  The truth is that the connection between a parent and child is not one that can be bound by language or reason.  It is not clearly structured or delineated, but rather it takes place somewhere past the boundaries of the conscious mind and resides within the instinctual programming of the animal.

It is fair to say that one of the main interests I have always had in the making of art is the nature of the image.  The image is slippery.  It instantly seduces.  Its meaning morphs and changes with time and with each person who looks upon it.  It is precisely this strange looseness of meaning, this confluence of symbols and contexts, this pocket of enigmatic energy that I am so drawn to.   As such, I look for contradictions in my imagery.  I prefer the enigma to the reasoned argument and I try to reflect that in my art. It is the abject monster; the place where symbols collide like warring titans that leave us stunned and senseless that has always held sway over my personal aesthetic.

It is important to me that my imagery affects on an emotional level. I choose to control the medium, craft, and composition while allowing the imagery to bubble up from the unconscious through dreams, free association, and digital collage. I hope my work is as fragmented, confused, and beautiful as the emotions I feel for my child.  I hope those that look at my work feel its effect (as opposed to think its meaning), are seduced by its craft and are swallowed by what they cannot articulate.  It is not thought nor meaning that I wish to present, but feeling, a strange feeling, that you have seen this before and that you are somehow connected.

born:1978, United States

education:

Kendall College of Art & Design, MFA, 2012 (pending)
Kendall College of Art & Design, BFA, 2003

selected awards/honors

Merit Scholarship, Kendall College of Art and Design, 1998

selected publications

2011 Drawing Essentials: A Guide To Drawing From Observation, 2nd Addition, Oxford University Press, 2011
Direct Art Magazine, Fall-Winter, Vol. 17, Slow Art Productions, 2010
5th Exhibit-In-Print International Drawing Annual, Manifest Gallery, 2010

selected solo or two-person exhibits

2009 "Fatherhood," Solo Exhibition, Newaygo County Council For The Arts, Fremont, MI., 2009

selected group shows

New York Drawing Center Online Viewing Program, New York, NY, 2010
Concentration, A Graduate Group Exhibition, Grand Rapids, MI. 2010
2009 "80th Muskegon Regional Art Exhibition," Juried Exhibition (Maria Tomasula), Muskegon, MI., 2009