ARTIST STATEMENT

I’ve always been intrigued by the allure of Vegas nightlife. It always seemed to me that the glitter and glamour of the club scene seems to simultaneously exist in two different worlds. In one, the ideal desires of human aesthetics are flaunted in shameless extravagance. In the other, a darker side of human social behavior is revealed.

In my paintings, I use an oil glazing process that slowly sculpts the human body into perfection.  Using thin layers of paint, I gradually build soft cheeks, luscious clothes, and perfect hair. These are elements that are all combined to create figurative and portrait work that mimics hyperreality, a reality more sensational than daily life. In other paintings, I portray these people as sickly bodies, the kinds that have indulged to the point of self destruction. These pieces have Los Angeles based pop surrealist qualities, as they offer a commentary on the dangers of being consumed by Vegas glamour.

By mimicking the hyperreality and self-destructive nature of nightlife, I hope to instill emotions on viewers that make them remember past secrets long hidden by their inner social restraints. It is my desire to pull them into a hyperreality with me, to entice them so that they ponder the animalistic urges that surface when the Vegas sun goes down.