Elemental

ELEMENTAL (2004-06 and 2010-Present) 

The paintings in this series are abstractions that subtly evoke the natural elements and the effects that these elements, over time, can have on objects and the natural world. All paintings are inspired by my fascination with the aesthetic of dereliction, both in natural landscapes (manifested, among other things, as sedimentation and erosion) and in industrial and urban decay; thus, they reference the beauty entailed by the processes of crumbling, corrosion, or decomposition. To that end, each painting goes through a gradual building up of layers that I then systematically refashion until the composition’s elements are harmonized into a visually compelling piece. All paintings in the series, even the large-scale pieces, invite the viewer closer in with their richly textured layers and their open-ended suggestiveness.