statement

I make this work because I am intrigued by the play between
    the loose organic line and the tight architectonic line,
    the natural world and the intellectualized account of the natural world,
    the fact and the symbol for the fact,
    the life of the body and the life of the mind.

In my current body of work I am pouring a graphite preparation onto a non-porous surface, then using the same forces that shaped the earth to shape my imagery - gravity, fluid dynamics, sedimentation, and erosion. My use of graphite in these works speaks to both the arts and the sciences; it simultaneously references the artistic practice of drawing, vast geologic processes, and the carbon-base of all life forms.

While pouring the liquid graphite, I restrain parts of the organic flow through architectural interventions or impediments. These constraints draw attention to the discrepancy between the natural physical properties of the earth-based material and the forms of control, both physical and mental, that humans routinely superimpose over them. The creation of the graphite ground is an exercise in giving up control, letting nature take its course. My interventions allude to human efforts to understand, classify, and mentally subdue those acts of nature.

Semiotics, science, and Buddhist philosophy are all source materials for my work, which is a further exploration into insights gained during my years practicing Vipassana meditation. Through this practice I became aware of a break between the physical world and my mental perceptions of that world. I was able to experience the physical without attaching emotional or mental constructs to it - to separate the sensation of an itch from the urge to scratch it.

The making of these works also allows me to experience vast geologic processes on a more intimate scale. It is my way of participating in this humbling immensity, a way to hold a small piece in my hand. It is the Tao's world in a blade of grass. It is Joan Didion's sense of belonging and purpose in an earthquake.

bio

born: Washington, D.C.

education

SCAD-Atlanta, BFA, 2010

selected awards/honors

National Artist Registries for both the City of Atlanta and Fulton County Pubic Art Programs, 2012
Studio Artist Program, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, 2011
Forward Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award, Finalist, 2011

selected publications

New American Paintings Issue #100, 2012
Strokes of Genius 4: the Best of Drawing, 2012
FORM: Artistic Independence 2011, Atlanta, GA: p. 107-109,2011
Seana Reilly‚s Artwork Meditates on the Science of Letting Go, www.Burnaway.org, 2011

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Perpetual Assembly, Whitespace, Atlanta, GA, 2011
Surface Mining, Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, GA, 2009

selected group shows

Drawing Discourse - 3rd Annual Contemporary Drawing Exhibition, UNC-A, Asheville, NC, 2012
Material Deposits, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA, 2011
33rd Bradley International Print + Drawing Exhibition, Peoria Contemporary Arts Center, Peoria, IL, 2011
Drawing in the Expanded Field, Clara Hatton Gallery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 2011