Artist Statement

I began painting in 2006, after having spent over fifteen years immersed in jewelry and wearable art. Painting had been my first art form, as a student and young adult. Having recently rediscovered the art on a professional level, it is my endeavor to utilize the gift of painting to inspire social, cultural, and environmental awareness.

2006 was a year to rediscover technique and define my ideas. In 2007, I began exhibiting and marketing work. My current body of work consists of 1) abstract-landscape compositions, influenced largely by my educational work in the Asian Studies Program at Symphony Space, 2) figurative paintings, inspired by African art as well as the work of Amedeo Modigliani – an artist whose articulation I have long admired and, most notably 3) oil portraiture, which I generally use to extract and offer insights into culture, causes, and individuals.

My recent and upcoming portraits commemorate the lives of several artists, activists, and civilians who made, or were in the process of making, great strides for humanity in their abbreviated lifetimes. This study has been funded in part by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The Puffin Foundation and Harlem Arts Alliance, and was exhibited, in its early stages, at Columbia University, January – March 2008. It is my hope that the study – entitled Projects Under Construction -  will continue to expand and touch lives in significant ways.