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ARTIST
BIO:
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Born
in the suburbs of Chicago, I lived for most of my childhood in a tiny,
one-bedroom apartment with my mother, father and younger sister.
From my father, an artist and writer who never had the means
of
going to college, I learned the basics-- not only the how-to, but also
the way of finding beauty in the ordinary and the simplicities of life.
From my mother I learned how to make the best out of any
situation
as well as the joy that can be found in patience and
craftsmanship. My sister has taught me how to laugh at life
and
celebrate the things that have shaped who we have become. My
entire family relies on love and humor to get through tough times,
which has been a continued inspiration. I feel this is
evident in
my work, in addition to the unavoidable voyeuristic nature of art and
the combination of real and surreal that creates a delicate balance in
our day-to-day lives. I strive to create a body of work that
is,
at once, both beautiful and unconventional, with a high level of
craftsmanship and love for the medium.
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ARTIST
STATEMENT:
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The
element of familiarity
and the mystery of the strange, in combination with simple suggestion,
are what saturate great art. It has a way of inviting us and capturing
our attention, while at the same time not alienating us with a concept
too deep. The watcher may not always fully understand an
artwork (curiosity is important for the life of art anyway) but great
art allows some layers to be revealed while it entices with what it
keeps to itself.
The job of the artist is to successfully plant a suggestion, at the
same time leaving some part to the imagination, all while maintaining
honesty (so goes the struggle between artist and art). Art is a form of
communication used to explain, to transcend the watcher, and to raise
questions. It is the job of the watcher to be curious-- to take the
time to ask the questions that the art proposes and to participate in
the discovery. As in life, art is presented like a situation. What is
made of that situation is up to the watcher.
Throughout my ongoing relationship with art, the tendency to take
oneself too seriously has proved to be all too easy.
Counterbalancing this, I have found that embracing humility
as a
personal struggle seems to
add a warmth and comfort to my work. The interplay between humor and
seriousness helps mold a depth that I try to attain. In my
work, there are different layers that I want to be discovered, either
separately or all together. Among others, I try to suggest that my
pieces could be authentic, either in age or tradition. But I also want
to suggest that they are blatant reproductions, although with a
craftsmanship that maintains honesty. I would like the watcher to ask
what makes something real and note how little it takes to alter
reality.
It is the push-and-pull between the comfort of the familiar and the
uneasiness of the strange that causes us to take another look. When one
never compromises the other, we feel the need to make sense of the two.
It is this that makes art self-perpetuating.
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