ALPHABET
My works are built from an ‘alphabet’ I created which juxtaposes a circle to a square and rigorously explores all the possibilities within those two shapes. This language provides parameters for my outcomes while helping to avoid ornamentation or unnecessary layers of meaning.
My alphabet emerged from a basic building material I found while living in Bali - a square cinder block with the center cut away, commonly used in architecture. There was something that lured me in about the basic geometry, the positive and negative, but also how familiar and accepted it was as this form. I began to impose changes to the block by making simple reductive actions; I took one corner off, then one side, then 2 sides, 3 sides, 4 sides. By completing this exploration, it altered the sense of the form - and it also altered your sense or perception of what this object was. Something that was familiar, even overlooked, was now presented in a way that unlocked beauty and curiosity, and brought more value or light to it. It extended the initial allure I felt, and invited people in, including those with no formal education in art or design. I discovered that this was the area in which I love to play.
Today the alphabet is really a framework or set of building blocks that I use to create my paintings and sculptures. I reuse these shapes exclusively to constrain my work within a certain symbolic range of elements that have endless combinations and arrangements. Either by stacking sculptural elements or painting dynamic compositions, I am able to play with scale, proportion, and composition in ways that uniquely complement their materials or play off their architectural context. Maybe they are lined up in very long linear elements, or dynamic compositions, or simple grids, or other configurations… these arrangements showcase the variety that this alphabet or language creates in such exciting ways, and delivers such a range of intrigue and impact despite the inherent constraints.
It's also in an effort to make sure everything is cohesive - something painted can offer the same notion or invitation as something dimensional, just as the sculptural ideas can speak towards the paintings. This ultimately invites people inside a world I wish for them to explore on their own.
