Somata is a selection from a body of work I have been pursuing for the past two years. The subject is an up-close exploration of the flesh of dead animals, all of which were purchased from a local grocery store. These images are of three animals- a roasted duck, an octopus (thawed and then dried) and a filleted fish. I selected these animals based on the way they looked rather than their specific identity. I am most interested in the inherent similarity of their flesh. The images are close-cropped to retain a sense of ambiguity. The lighting and space also remain ambiguous to enhance the sensuous quality of the surfaces. The paint handling is thick and visceral to emphasize the importance of the material. Often, the pieces are combined into diptychs to imply a sense of movement, the passing of time, or a transformation.
Essentially, all living things are made of flesh and are bound in the same inevitable cycle. My interest in the sensory experience of cutting into dead animals is a result of struggling with my own mortality and an upbringing that devalued the flesh in favor of something greater. I believe the flesh itself can become something more if it is treated with reverence. It has been my goal to create paintings that pay homage to this beautiful physicality.
Education
M.F.A. 2006 Painting/Drawing Arizona State University
B.F.A. 2000 Studio Art University of Central Florida
Exhibition Record
2006 Somata, Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ
38th Annual Visual Arts Exhibition, Meadows Gallery, Center for the Visual Arts,
Denton, TX, Juror: Karl Umlauf, Artist
3rd Biennial Print Exhibition, Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff,
AZ
2005 Trading Voices: Arizona/Colorado, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities,
Arvada, CO, Juror: Dianne Perry Vanderlip, The Polly and Mark Addison Curator
of Modern and Contemporary Art, Denver Art Museum
2005 National Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, Juror:
Joseph Thompson, Director, Mass MoCA
6th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA,
Juror: Roger Ricco, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York, NY, Purchase Award,
Shippensburg University Juried National Exhibition Collection
National Spring Open Juried Exhibition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA, Jurors:
Ro Lohin, Director, Lohin-Geduld Gallery, Chelsea, New York, and Kevin Wixted, Artist
2001 Six: A Show of Figures, Avalon Island Gallery, Orlando, FL
The Monotonous Disorder of Daily Life, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Mt. Dora, FL, Juror:
Spencer Pettit, Director, Chiaroscuro Gallery
Objects of Desire, Orlando City Hall Terrace Gallery, Orlando, FL
2000 100 Sacred Visions, The Austellung, Payerbach, Austria, Juror: Philip Rubinov-
Jacobson, Professor, Norwich University
Board of Regents Exhibition, Student Union Gallery, University of Central Florida,
Orlando, FL