Contemporary Surrealist, Pop Artist

Artist Statement

 

Combining Surrealism and Pop Art, my paintings contain both melancholy and a dark humor hidden in the elements of everyday life. Starting with old photographs and found images, I create depictions of frozen moments in time, sometimes incorporating dystopian landscapes and seemingly random elements that carry the narrative—but only if you look for them.

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In Beware of Men in Suits (2024), men in suits appear with their heads cropped by the canvas or obscured by trees. A flip clock reveals the time: 6:24, a reference to the date Roe v. Wade was overturned. Nearby, a framed photograph of a woman from the 1960s sinks into a stereotypical Southern California swimming pool.

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In Daughter of Woman (2026), I reimagine Magritte’s The Son of Man. A lemon replaces Magritte’s apple in a satirical look at a woman trapped in a prescribed role. Set in a Southern California backyard, the painting explores her confinement within suburbia, while a fruit sticker commodifies both the lemon and, by implication, the woman herself.

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At first glance, my paintings are graphic and colorful, but looking deeper reveals messages about postwar promises that failed to come to fruition. I often question the choices people make and how those choices determine their individual and collective destinies. Drawing on the photographs I grew up with in the 1960s and the promise of change in the 1970s, I introduce colorful, visually appealing objects that deliver a sharp jab when you get too close.

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I use familiar California imagery to explore the Hollywood ideal of an idyllic world—one that is anything but.

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Skillfully balancing what is concealed and what is revealed, my paintings remain open to discovery, inviting viewers to draw their own conclusions rather than imposing a judgment.