exhibitions

Greenville Center for Creative Arts

My approach to art making uses research about invisible constructs of thoughts, narratives and stories. My practice employs different disciplines to understand the human capacity of engaging systems. Concepts that intrigue me are harmony and chaos, communication networks, and the use of binary methodology. I incorporate color theory as a way of describing binary beliefs. Much like a scientist, I develop a hypothesis of “what if” and then explore if my ideas will work. My approach begins by constructing sculptural patterns and structures in the real, allowing me to fully understand how the works organize and grow. One example is a sculpture I made using the two systems of thought researched by a behavioral economist who described risks and rewards. He states that a binary system or grid is the invisible construct used to create order for society. As an example, mapping systems are evident in our roads and street signs. Also, architects use binary systems for building. Research suggests a second system for risk and creative thought is developed by jutting off of the grid for dynamic, isomorphic growth. This geometric pattern is where creativity, risk, and a host of other more sinister behaviors such as gambling, and lying develop. My work is self-derivative. Taking what I learned from the sculptural structures, I painted this body of work. I incorporate stenciled numbers into some of the paintings as I decipher risk as it relates to statistics. Researching how information is shared on the web made me realize that our digital footprint increasingly describes our identity in the form of numbers. With the latest development of AI, I question how it will alter our reality and ability to seek fact based truth. Some of my paintings question how lying is woven into our communications. All of my work aims to create conversation, broaden critical thinking and deepen our understanding of the human condition.

Georgia Southern University 

Where Soul Meets Body explores the synergy between art and science, where elegance and symmetry meet. Exploring energy waves, mathematical codes and musical ciphers, I question the human experience of personal perspectives and narratives, which create imaginary constructs defining who we become through logical and illogical choices or paths. I crave harmony in my life. Harmony portrays a calm meditative background, soothing melodies and loving interactions. Chaos is a natural phenomenon that interrupts the harmony of the universe and reveals not only genuine experiences but manufactured disruptors such as AI, social media and the frenetic pace of information overload in our current way of life. All of these systems of harmony and chaos are investigated through my compositions in oil paintings, my constructions of constellations in plexiglass musical boxes, and the silkscreen prints of PTSD neurotransmitter mapping printed upon Bach’s “Ever Rising Canon.”

Meet Me in the Middle, Jennifer Balcos Gallery, Atlanta GA

My creative process uses my curiosity about why we behave the way we do. Whether I am painting, creating wall relief sculptures, printmaking, or tackling installation ideas, my focus is always on how ideas become a reality. I am always drawn to the complexities of why people build belief systems, stories, or narratives that are unique to their own perspective. The tug of war between families, racial divides, disparities between emotion and reason are on my mind as I use the process of creation to untangle such complicated topics. Dealing with the pandemic and political strife has made me focus my work on mental health and navigating a way forward towards hope and positivity. This show is titled Meet Me in the Middle because the middle is where to find common ground and balance.

Metaphorically, the images I create are about the psyche, the relationships with our world, and humanity. Our minds are wired to make binary decisions; black and white, right and wrong, left or right, yet there is far more to grapple with when making decisions. The paintings, in particular, use color as an emotional state and the webs or grids relate to the interconnection between how we navigate through decisions and interactions. I am exploring how subconscious decisions create an ethereal structure. My fascination with the rational and irrational shows that both states create harmony yet whimsy.

Formally, I am particularly interested in creating depth and perspective shifts through the grids, dots, lines, and color choices. I chose four themes that I work on simultaneously; architectural, geometric, atmospheric, and harmony. These themes interrelate because they all speak to the metaphors of navigating the unseen world of our thoughts. All the work in this new body uses color theory to find the middle. Each piece uses either warm and cool or blending to find the neutral tone and play the opposite color to seek balance in the center. Hues blended together to create beautiful new colors, and the middle is where I hope you will meet me.

In the end, the work is about finding a happy place where there is peace of mind and beauty in the mysterious unseen geometry of life.

Two Person Show, Chastain Art Gallery, Atlanta GA

I am fascinated with the mind; the connections and pathways that develop through experience into convoluted structures. Scientists describe how emotions are imbedded in memories, which make humans “imperfect machines”. Understanding how people make decisions, based on emotional experience, informs my work, how a web of thought develops. My work compares mathematics, or non-emotional problem solving, against the decisions based on opinions. Collective thought forms societal shifts. This is another aspect that I like to grapple with in my work; the power of public opinion.

My process starts in sculpture, beginning with grids, developing patterns into complex structures, until the beginning becomes impossible to find. This is like life, the paths one takes aren’t always anticipated. 

The sculptures are used to inform other formats, to continue manipulating the patterns. I am interested in finding mediums to describe the intricacies of the pathways resulting from decisions. Choices are often made on faulty logic because people can’t remember the past as well as they think. The complexities of opinion, how emotions alter rational patterns; the imperfect perceived structures is what the work is about.

Exhibition GSU 2021

“The Cosmos, The Cipher & The Soul”, much like the novel by Stephon Alexander, explores the crossroads between art and science where elegance and synergy meet.

My convoluted path finds me again seeking an understanding of universal truths. After reading “Jazz of Physics”, I realized my love affair with music is part of an energy that is part science, part math, and inherent to the core of human existence. I began my year of exploration, trying to create elegance in a sculptural format using musicians’ math and coding.

The theoretical nature of classical music soothes and calms the mind. The studio became a respite during the early months of Covid. Yet, the sound outside my studio of whirring helicopters and sirens began to invade my symphonies. I turned to jazz to understand how improvisation sounds were described by the Circle of Fifths Coltrane created. The work began to shift as the beat and tones changed to more emotionally driven melodies.

What was ordered wire and plexiglass turned to undulating wire that seemed less bound and more like the improvisation of a jazz musician. I turned to paint to understand the physical relationship between energy and melody and movement. The paintings reflect the joy of Earth Wind & Fire and Motown. Where I began is not where I ended in this year of musical exploration. The discovery that music starts as energy from the universe develops through a musician’s ears and is felt by the audience that listens has given me a great appreciation for this wonderful art form that resonates through humanity.