Oil painter and collage artist based in Chicago, IL.

My paintings are a part of the historical practice of collage and oil painting. By engaging with modern images and technology I am challenging both practices, working against the tradition of collage and oil painting as separate entities. Photoshop and the internet allow for new combinations of photo, drawing, color, light and space that previously were not possible. I am pushing the idea of the rectangle into architectural space, working past the 2D plane into “rooms,” and using the canvas as a window rather than a screen. I am also challenging the idea of boundaries around fine art works. Rather than having the viewer acknowledge the distance and separation between themselves, the painting and its content, I am taking advantage of the large scale to pull the viewer into the space and allow them to become part of the scene. The audience not as witness but as unwilling participants, reinforcing my own experience of trauma and its effects on the body and mind. Because the content I am working with is so current and personal it becomes inherently political. Critique of capitalism, militarization and warnings against authoritarian structure are prominent themes. My artwork challenges current societal standards and systemic abuse through a process of reclamation of my own experiences and the lens through which I filter the world.

Please contact me directly for projects or to inquire about purchasing my work.