In my work I explore seemingly disparate elements—geometric patterns and scientific illustration; mapping methodologies and the delicate beauty of stitched line; iconographies of the antique and abstract form. Because of this diversity I refer to my portfolios as “a curious collection,” holding tightly to the pre-modern connotations of the term curious: strange, bizarre, and uncanny. I’m interested in other worldly beauty as a kind of knowledge, where the familiar is unfamiliar, where the old is new, and where the visual can be used to create beauty, cast a spell, and speak on several levels at once.
Born in New York and raised in Boston, I now live in Florence, Italy where I studied Renaissance Art with particular interests in visual dialectic and scholasticism. Much of that historical framework still informs my art production. While living in Istanbul in 2015, I delved more deeply into my interests in Islamic art as a hiatus from the Western canon. The intersection of these two traditions forms the ground upon which my work is built: making a kind of new artifact that is unexpected, mysterious, and ineffable.
My Process
I work primarily in a color palette of deep blues, purples, and gold, colors that have been an important part of art making since antiquity. Almost every work has additional elements that are sewn by hand in gold thread. These can range from a small detail to an extensive pattern. I enjoy how intimate I become with each piece and how much time they spend in my hands.
The addition of geometry to an image, representational or organic, adds several layers to the experience. Geometry feels familiar to us but it also has a mysterious, multi-dimensional power. I want each piece to convey that spectrum.
