Portal Fantasy. 2023
This current body of work is born out of a personal desire to circumvent the hype around AI technologies generating art.
If anything, it has renewed my passion to be present in the act of making and dive deeper into the physical act of painting in my art practice.
AI generated art being viewed as another exciting digital portal into a ‘new world/ future’ of sorts is very telling of the human fascination with portals that we hope will somehow transform us and teleport us.
While this technology will definitely be transformative, how we transform with it is a lot to be reckoned with.
These paintings are a contemplation on these questions, concerns and musings. By embracing and not dismissing this human fascination for portal fantasies, these paintings offer my reflection and expression on the subject.
With body and mind fully engaged, committing to the synchrony of flow and movement, there is a poetic nature to the physical act of painting that I’m practicing and expressing with this work.
<< On view through Mar-Apr 2024 at Jeanette Best gallery, Port Townsend WA as part of ‘A Warm Embrace’ exhibition. >>
<< On view through July 2023 at Ryan James Fine Art gallery, Kirkland WA. Selected artist for the gallery’s biennial Visual Impressions juried exhibition. >>
This new series of paintings celebrates the intrinsic physical nature and process of making art. These paintings are about engaging my whole body in the act of painting- stepping onto and bending over the surface- pulling and pushing each stroke, arms extended, in a fluid continuous movement- an intentional intersection of colors, building layer upon layer.
Carving out a consistent yoga practice in tandem with this juncture in my art practice is what enables me to execute the body movement involved in making the work.
The resulting expansive strokes, appearing as grand gestures, express dynamic movement and flow.
At the same time, the multiple layers of inks, paints and their transparencies build depth, revealing intimate moments of detail up close.
With 2023 having kicked off with “AI generated art” flooding social media and the visual art world, we are in a cultural moment where images and text being conjured up through data is becoming quickly normalized. In the face of this reality, I believe that the very humanity, intentionality and physicality of the act of making art is now more relevant and essential than ever.
With body and mind fully engaged, committing to the synchrony of flow and movement, there is a poetic nature to the physical act of painting that I’m practicing and expressing with this work in progress.