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January 2011
In my paintings of oil on wood and canvas I rediscover and resurrect the people I find in discarded photo albums acquired at flea markets.
Seeking the truth of the past, not simply historical record, I look for hidden expressions of intimacy and human interactions between the figures in the photographs. My paintings obsessively record all of the small details—the touch of hands, a loving gaze…
The collections of paintings often evolve into large installations. Usually I spend more than a year on each large painting project.
I counter the flatness and ephemeral quality of the original photographs, with a thick, visceral paint application. I impart a weight and physicality in depicting the persons in the lost photographs, restoring the presence of those forgotten. I like to think that my paintings are physical placeholders for the persons who are absent.
Beginning with discovered caches of superficial, cheesy snapshots, I finish with collections of paintings that redress history--providing a new perspective of the lives of forgotten people.
My current project is the “Blue Screen Series.”
These paintings reference photos I found on the wall of a Miami pizzeria—shots of the workers after hours. The vivid ultramarine blue of the paintings suggests, not only, the tropical Miami environment, but also the blue screens of film making, where figures are shot and extracted from environments pictorially. In this series I investigate the role of the individual with in a group—studying how, in life, people come together randomly, interact and become close knit community. |
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