Kutztown, PA
I make paintings of the spaces where people live. Painting domestic spaces provides an opportunity to paint geometric shapes, organic shapes, and pattern, and so long as people are able to recognize an architectural detail (such as a fireplace or a staircase), they are willing to make sense of the rest of the painting, even if the objects and color palette have been exaggerated.
The paintings are based on real estate listings and are often titled by street address, followed by a number. The street address is a simple convention that instantly identifies the work, and the number indicates the size of the work. “1816 Brevard Place No. 201,” as pictured in Image 01, is based on a real estate listing from that address and is 11in x 14in. Any other paintings made of that property in that size will be titled “202” or “203,” etc. Different sized paintings of that property might be part of a 100 or 300 series. Meticulous viewers can identify multiple paintings of a single property by reading the wall labels. I’m quite active on social media, and I’ve heard from folks who’ve reached out to say, “I bought a house and googled the address, your painting is the first thing that came up, oh my gosh, that’s my kitchen!” I’ve also heard from people who’ve said, “Hmmm, this really looks like my patio,” and I can provide the street address of the listing I used to make the painting.
Painting domestic spaces also provides a unifying framework for my body of work. In recent years, I’ve used the domestic space as a vehicle to paint landscapes - big bay windows, patios, or porches, as shown in Image 02, “Stuyvesant, NY No. 201.” I’m currently working on a series of paintings focused on staircases, as shown in Image 03, “Salem, NJ No. 401.” I’m interested in a dynamic where there is increased interest in what is happening in places that aren’t pictured in the painting. These small series within the larger body of paintings allow me to push my body of work in different directions, but when a gallery calls and asks for more inventory, the paintings I have on hand are still recognizably mine and fit within the body of work I’m known for.
