Artist Statement

On its most basic level, my work is an attempt to transform ordinary matter into something extraordinary, to bridge the conceptual realm to the material world. My point of entry into art making has been to use materials in ways that distill and re-present various aspects of their inherent physical properties, revealing an unexpected beauty in a previously un-seen way.

I am interested in creating art that is experiential, interactive and constantly changing, and in these ways, may bring about a state of trance or reverie in the viewer, much like watching a fire. Though mostly poetic in conception, my work has a strong scientific bent, and resolving technically difficult problems in sculpture making has been a hallmark of my career. Flight has been a persistent theme for me throughout my life, and as my work has matured, its manifestation has taken on ever more ethereal forms.

In my most recent work, I am interested in finding or imposing order in chaotic airflow systems. The Air series of sculptures and room-sized installations involves lightweight materials such as bird feathers, flower petals, Styrofoam peanuts, fabric, balloons, soap bubbles, fog, fire or ordinary litter from the street that are trapped, and continuously fly in columns or vortices of open air. Work from the Air series is spare and poetic, largely due of its use of humble materials. Propelled into motion by something that is invisible, the aerodynamic properties of these materials, and the underlying order within these inherently chaotic airflow systems are revealed in a way that can be continuously observed.