March 5 – April 14, 2008
Artist's StatementThe RQ
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When I was twenty-five, I knew that I was supposed to be a painter. Ultimately, it took me another twenty five years to get to a point where I had the freedom to pursue this dream on a full-time basis. During the intervening years I spent my available free time in art school. Wherever I lived I found a place to go to school. It started in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and it continues to this day. Whenever I had a place to use as a studio, I painted. When I didn’t have space, I painted in my head. In 1996, I was able to free myself to paint on a full-time basis. I got into two group shows in 1997, and since then I have had four one-man shows.
For two semesters in 1997 and again for nine semesters between mid-1999 through mid-2002, I was accepted to participate in the Empire State College (SUNY) Studio Art Program in New York City. They gave me a studio to work in and invited renowned artists, museum curators, art historians and critics to conduct group lectures as well as critique the work of each of the program’s participants. For example, my work received favorable critiques on three occasions from Robert Storr (then curator of painting and sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art). Other positive critiques came from James Siena, Joyce Kosloff, Robert Morgan, Jill Moser and Michael St. John, to name a few.
From 1996-2005, I had an opportunity to study with Alexander Shundi almost every Monday afternoon in his studio in Amenia, New York. Alex taught me how to see, how not to be afraid of my imagination, and, most of all, how to create work that made uncommon sense. I owe Alex a great debt of thanks.
In 1997, I won an Award of Merit at Paperworks’97 (a national juried show). This was followed by four one-man shows. The first was called Re:Presentations hosted by the Wooster Community Art Center where I showed figurative work. Next, Ulla Surland’s Gallery 11 in Fairfield, CT showed my Alternative Landscapes. This was followed by an invitation from a Soho based advertising agency (Kirschenbaum, Bond & Partners) to display similar work. In March, 2002, Kevin Alger (NYC) presented a broad range of my work including my new grid-based series. At both the Gallery 11 and Alger shows, more than 50% of the work shown was sold at the opening reception. I credit the time I spent at Empire State’s Studio Program as a valuable component to being selected for these successful shows.
In early 2005 I moved from my studio in the South Bronx to my new studio in Leawood, Kansas, where I continue to develop my on-going series of abstracted landscapes, wallscapes and grid based concepts, as well as the always serious and often playful exploration of each day’s new ideas.
ART EDUCATION
GALLERY EXHIBITIONS – Group Shows
GALLERY & CORPORATE EXHIBITIONS – One-Man Shows
JURIED SHOWS
AWARDS
MEMBERSHIPS
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
REVIEWS AND PUBLICATIONS
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