Statement

At the root of both tragedy and comedy lies the inevitable and irreversible moment of choice. My paintings present tongue-in-cheek melodramas that hinge on a single decision. The work is quotidian vaudeville, combining the tropes of traditional Americana and the trappings of contemporary America. At once humorous and sincere, the pictures ask viewers to reconsider their own decisions while laughing at the absurdity of choice itself. 
Over Fences and BramblesI am particularly interested in the mythos of the American suburb, with its combination of gauche commercialism  and faux-country aesthetic.  During the process of development, the suburb destroys the history and character of the place on which it is built.  With very little intrinsic individuality, the new suburb must manufacture an identity by appropriating the cultural motifs of the region in which it was built— ironically, the motifs of the very culture it is helping to destroy.  


Raised in Piedmont Virginia, I witnessed this process firsthand.  Over the course of two decades, I saw the region’s colonial and civil war history subsumed by nostalgically named strip malls and “McMansions” styled to emulate Federal architecture.   Despite the small town cuteness and rural pretensions, the suburbs in which I was raised fostered neither community nor natural abundance.  Instead, they produced a destructive system that was both alienating and inefficient—a society in which appearance trumped substance and ideas became divorced from reality.


My paintings engage this struggle for self-identification, which is simultaneously societal and intensely personal. They call attention to the unavoidable fictionalization of history while celebrating our incredible ability to craft this fiction into personal truth. 


Born in an era of mash-ups and derivatives, I am a cultural omnivore, taking inspiration wherever it is found.  I draw heavily upon American folk art and the work of Regionalist painters such as Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton.  I blend these elements with classical themes, religious iconography, and contemporary pop culture.  The result is a fantastic amalgam that is as much Gilgamesh and Grimm as Monty Python and Mario Bros.


Though my work is full of humor, it is by no means frivolous.  Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, a wave of reactionary sentiment has pushed our national discourse in dangerous directions.   At this critical point in our nation’s history, we are redefining who we are and our role in the world.  We must be active participants in rewriting our collective narrative—not simply by voting or taking to the streets, but by looking at ourselves and making a decision about who we choose to be.