Gods and Monsters (2015-17)

This series involves portraits of contemporary personalities that have been reimagined into historicized, fictive spaces, summoning narratives from Homer’s The Odyssey. Mirroring my work as a scenic and costume designer, these compositions are “staged” through the process of layering my original photographic and hand-rendered imagery with additional digital textures. I utilize experimental printmaking techniques, especially in the play between different surface qualities of ink/paint/pigment.

Aesthetically, the works are inspired by Colorforms™, an iconic children’s toy. Characterized by highly chromatic design palettes, in Colorforms™, die-cut stickers rendered in efficient graphic styles can be applied (and reapplied) to glossy backgrounds. The intended user has the ability to change the significance of the pictorial objects by placing them in unexpected positions. A design flaw of the toy occurs when the forced perspective of the background is violated by objects placed outside of areas determined by the vanishing point. This accepted “clunkiness” in Colorforms™ feels akin to Odysseus’s disorientation throughout The Odyssey, and also parallels the challenges of restaging the proportional differences between Odysseus to gods and monsters in the work.

Through a Colorforms™ approximation of Homer’s epic poem, I investigate the volatile, gossipy, fame-hungry gods and the vast universe that they rule, itself a tribute to the great beauty of its bounty. Gods and Monsters is my attempt to render the myriad interpretations of the stories in The Odyssey through the crossing of cultural themes including: celebrity; appropriation; the diversity of representational identities; political upheaval and unrest; advertising, tropes from art history; figurative and landscape art painting techniques; and the transformative power of digital technology to combine and manipulate these disparate ideas.

portrait of the artist as homer (2016)

digital illustration and collage on parchment with gouache, gold leaf and metallic ink, 15x12” framed.

Persephone and the Wives of Heroes in the Style of William Klein (2017)

collage with silkscreen on vellum with cut paper, ink, gouache, silver leaf, and enamel, 15x12” framed.

Part of the group exhibition:

Master Remix, Chico Art Center, Chico, CA. August 9– 30, 2019. Jurors:Jason Tannen, photographer; Carolyn Arredondo, photographer.

scylla and charybdis in the style of ernst (2015)

digital illustration and collage on vellum with ink, parchment, acrylic jewels, gouache and metallic ink, 12x15” framed.

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

Dada Lives!, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash Art Gallery, 9555 Plainfield Road, Blue Ash, Ohio 45236, April 25 – June 3, 2016, Juror: H. Michael Sanders, Curator Professor and Department Chair, Electronic Media Communications, UCBA.

Heroes and Villains, Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, 13480 Dowell Road, Dowell (Solomons), MD 20629. June 19-Aug 23, 2015. Juror: Melissa Winslow Langley, Curator of Exhibits, Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center

the dream of weavers (2015)

digital illustration and collage with cut-vellum, ink, gouache and metallic ink, 8.5x11"

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

Behind the Veil: Mythology, Fantasy, and the Human Psyche. Stonebranch School of Art, Rockville, MD. May 18–June 2, 2018. Juror: Luis C. Silva, Professor of Art, American University and Terre Jenkins, Stonebranch Director.

Dream or Nightmare, Metrospace, East Lansing, MI. Dec 3 2016-Jan 15, 2017. Juror: Judy Jashinsky, artist.

In Your Dreams at Marin Society of Artists Gallery, 1515 3rd St, San Rafael, CA 94901. Sept 29-Oct 30, 2016. Juror: Michael Azgour, artist.

Heroes and Villains, Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, Dowell (Solomons), MD 20629. June 19-Aug 23, 2015. Juror: Melissa Winslow Langley, Curator of Exhibits, Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center.

Odysseus and Poseidon (2016)

digital-illustration on vellum with gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

Mythology, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY. April 6-May 8, 2017. Juror: Virginia Walsh, Director and Curator of Exhibitions.

Men’s Show: The Hero’s Journey, Columbia Center for the Arts, Hood River, OR. Jan 6-29, 2017. Juror: Chas Martin, artist.

sheepishly (2015)

digital illustration and collage on vellum, with sandpaper, cotton, ink, wax, gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

Contemporary 2017: Retellings, Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO. May 13 – June 24, 2017. Jurors Gabriela Martinez, artist, and Avery Glassman, Curator.

Animal House 2017, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Camarillo, CA. January 3– 29, 2017. Juror: James Radford, photographer

Stories, Parables, and Tall Tales, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA. December 1st, 2016– January 21, 2017. Juror: Christine Brennan, artist.

Dada Lives!, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash Art Gallery, Blue Ash, OH, April 25 – June 3, 2016, Juror(s): H. Michael Sanders, Curator Professor and Department Chair, Electronic Media Communications, UCBA.

TWELVE: Photoshopped! for Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, CA. December 9, 2015 – January 2, 2016. Juror: Charr Crail, artist.

in the lotus club (2015)

digital illustration and collage on vellum with cut paper, ink, gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

Dream or Nightmare, Metrospace, East Lansing, MI. Dec 3 2016-Jan 15, 2017. Juror: Judy Jashinsky, artist.

Art of the Surreal, Fantastic and Bizarre, Barrett Art Center/Dutchess County Art Association, 55 Noxon Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601. July 23-September 3, 2016 Juror: Eve Biddle, Founding Co-Executive Director of the Wassaic Project.

odysseus envisions the fall of troy in the style of hieronymus bosch (2015)

digital illustration and collage on velvet paper with wood, ink, oil wash, gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

In the Style of the Old Masters, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA. August 14 - September 2, 2018. Juror: Dr. Valerie Kidrick, Professor of Art History, Sacramento City College.

Contemporary 2017: Retellings, Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO. May 13 – June 24, 2017. Jurors Gabriela Martinez, artist, and Avery Glassman, Curator.

Men’s Show: The Hero’s Journey, Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Avenue, Hood River, OR. Jan 6-29, 2017. Juror: Chas Martin, artist.

Dada Lives!, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash Art Gallery, Blue Ash, Ohio. April 25 – June 3, 2016. Juror: H. Michael Sanders, Curator Professor and Department Chair, Electronic Media Communications, UCBA.

Taking on the Masters, Northgate Studio, Chester, UK. October 17-November 17, 2015. Curated by Northgate Studios.

nestor in pylos (2016)

digital illustration and collage on vellum with ink, parchment, gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the Group Exhibition:

Men’s Show: The Hero’s Journey, Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Avenue, Hood River, OR. Jan 6-29, 2017. Juror: Chas Martin, artist.

a strange palace (2015)

digital illustration and collage on vellum with ink, gold leaf, gouache and metallic ink, 8.5x11"

Part of the Group Exhibition:

Stories, Parables, and Tall Tales, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA. December 1st, 2016– January 21, 2017. Juror: Christine Brennan, artist.

Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tales, Fables and Myths, Ellington-White Contemporary Art Gallery, Fayetteville, VA. March 25 – April 16, 2016. Juror(s): Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.

tristan as helen at the scaean gates (2016)

digital illustration and collage on vellum with gouache, chalk pastel and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the Group Exhibition:

Fictive Selves of Color, The Lightwell Gallery (OU School of Art), Norman, OK. March 6-24, 2017. Jurors: Jane Tsi, artist and Jason Cytaki, Faculty.

varoufakis as agamemnon in hades (2016)

digital illustration and collage on parchment with ink gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

Contemporary Visions of Greece’s Golden Age, Brush Art Gallery and Studios, Lowell, MA. April 22—June 8, 2017. Jurors: Suzanne Scanlan, Lecturer, RISD; David Nolta, Professor, Massachusetts College of Art and Design; Jennifer Hache’, Art Handler, Worcester Art Museum; James Dyment, Executive Director, Brush Art Gallery.

Reflections on 2016, Kelwood Contemporary Art, Baton Rouge, LA. March 2–April 15, 2017. Juror: Jennifer Carwile, Owner.

Modern Celebrity, Sulfur Studios, Savannah, GA. Dec 6-18, 2016. Juror: Sulfer Studios.

athena as mentor (2015)

digital illustration and collage on vellum with cut paper, ink, gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Menelaus and Helen of Sparta (2016)

digital illustration and collage on parchment with vellum, velvet paper, mylar, sandpaper, gouache and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the Group Exhibitions:

Luck of the Draw, Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, MO. March 10-April 21, 2017. Juror: Grant Hargate, artist.

athena as mentos (2016)

collage with silkscreen on vellum with cut paper, ink, gouache, gold leaf, and enamel, , 12x15 framed"

Part of the Group Exhibition: Documents and Pictures for San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild, Poway Center for the Performing Arts, Poway, CA. February 1-28, 2017. Juror: SDMAAG

odysseus and calypso (2016)

digital illustration and collage on vellum with sandpaper, gouache, enamel and metallic ink, 12x15" framed.

Part of the group exhibition:

Souvenirs of Summer, Fabulon Center for Art, Charleston, SC. Aug 14-Oct 8, 2017.