ARTIST STATEMENT: Memory is at its most magical when it conjures up not the event, but its surrounding perceptual and emotional space. Flashes of reflected light, movement seen out of the corner of eye, bits of sound or feeling – these are what ignite memory, giving it form and bringing it to life.
Light both beams into and envelops you. I started working with it in 2003 after painting for many years because of these singular spatial qualities. They allow me to build whole worlds with color and shape, ones that resonate with memory and experience. Painters have often talked about depicting light. Today’s technology allows me to use light as medium as well as subject.
My vocabulary combines light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with contemporary reflective and transparent materials. The works range from the organic to the architectural.
The concepts for my installations and sculptures are structural, concerned with the way that form, light, and reflected light merge. My background as a painter has given me the ability to create works that are aesthetically rich, and technology provides a way to integrate color and line into the vocabulary of sculpture and architecture.
My wall works bridge the chasm between the technological and the handmade. I incorporate their materials into the form of the work: wires become lines; transparent and reflective sheeting become spatial illusions; LEDs become objects of various shapes, sizes, and colors. Together they act as discrete elements that form two-dimensional work like paintings, while the volumetric nature of their light amplifies and radiates color outward to suggest metaphorical spaces.
My work with light work derived from my painting. I have recently resumed painting, and it is in turn informed by my years working with light. As I integrate my light work with my earlier painting I pay special attention to the proportionality afforded by their synthesis. I am now simultaneously experiencing new media and old, deepening my understanding of the different concepts of space. The spaces I create are artificial but not fictional: stage sets, lit from within and without.
Post Liminal, Lights on and off 2017 LEDs, prism rods, reflective sheeting, aluminum, steel 36” H x 18” W x 13” D This is a prototype for a series of sculptures that can be placed both outdoors and inside. During the day it is a minimalist column with glistening white sides and aluminum angles that reflect throug
Water Bubbles-view from the southeast 2016 Oracal transparent film on clear acetate with LED backlighting Rectangular windows: 30” x 93”; Round windows 34” in diameter
Water Bubbles - view from southwest 2016 Oracal transparent film on clear acetate, with LED backlighting Rectangular windows: 30” x 93”; Round windows 34” in diameter
Water Bubbles-view from northwest 2016 Oracal transparent film on clear acetate, with LED backlighting Rectangular windows: 30” x 93”; Round windows 34” in diameter
Reflections of Grandeur - at night 2015 LEDs, reflective sheeting, vinyl on plexi Each column is 14.5” W x 1.5”x 52”D; Installation: 52”H x 97”W This installation in the windows of Station Independent Projects in New York City used LEDs and reflective road sign material to glow during the day and at night. The artwork succeeded in engaging ped
Reflections of Grandeur-by day 2015 LEDs, reflective sheeting, vinyl on plexi Each column is 14.5” W x 1.5” D; Height variable, 52” shown here Installation: 52”H x 97”W This installation in the windows of Station Independent Projects in New York City in June, 2015 used LEDs and reflective road sign material to glow during the day and at night. The artwork succeeded i
Tri-Quadular Cone 2007-2015 Reflective sheeting, LEDs in acrylic tubes, steel 108” H x 23” W x 23” D Shown here in the courtyard at City Hall in Summit, NJ, this sculpture's four sides are each faced with a different color of reflective road sign material. By day, the shape, color and reflective
Lot's Ex-Wife (Pass the Salt) 2013 Fluorescent-edged, plexiglass, prismatic reflective sheeting, steel 72"H x 48" W x 48"D This playful architecturally-based sculpture is made of fluorescent-edged plexiglass and prismatic reflective sheeting manufactured for road signs to glow without the use of electricity. Its form was
Fragmentary Evidence 1 (pink & violet) 2014 LEDs, wire, reflective sheeting, gel filters, plexi 23" H x 17" W x 5.25" D One of a series of wall pieces that consist of layers of light-based materials: LEDs, reflective road-sign material, gel filters, and the wire delivering power to its LEDs. Reminiscent of Byzantine an
Fragmentary Evidence 5 2015 LEDs, wire, reflective sheeting, gel filters, plexi 10"H x 15"W x 3.5"D One of a series of wall pieces that consist of layers of light-based materials: LEDs, reflective road-sign material, gel filters, and the wire delivering power to its LEDs. Reminiscent of Byzantine an
Aerialistic Twists 2014 LEDs, wire, wood and plexi frame 45" H x 27.5" W x 11"D 3 layers of seven different kinds of LEDs (898 in total) are suspended in place by their wiring, inside a wood and plexiglass frame. The LEDs can be seen through the plexiglass from the side as well a
Gesture Drawing 17 2013 LEDs, wire, plexi, mirrored mylar, gel filter, diffusion film 12” H x 12”W X .875”D Gesture Drawings are lyrical wall pieces with many different kinds of LEDs that I have been collecting, embedded into both sides of diffused plexiglass. Their wiring is exposed on both sides as well,
Gesture Drawing 20 2015 LEDs, wire, plexi, mirrored mylar, diffusion film 21” x 15” x .875” Gesture Drawings are lyrical wall pieces with many different kinds of LEDs that I have been collecting, embedded into both sides of diffused plexiglass. Their wiring is exposed on both sides as well,
Jacob's Lattice 2014 LEDs, wire, PVC lattice 66" H x 96" W x 4" D The existing lattice in the backyard garden at the Brian Morris Gallery was the starting point for the installation Jacob's Lattice. Three layers of shapes cut out of the same material formed a b
Pilgrimage - detail 2014 LEDs, wire, transparent plastic 21” H x 43” W x 43” D Pilgrimage is a ziggurat-like transparent sculpture with small LED light constructions cascading up and down its plastic steps. Segments of clear plastic were pieced together to build a journey of lig
Pilgrimage 2014 LEDs, wire, transparent plastic 21” H x 43” W x 43” D Pilgrimage is a ziggurat-like transparent sculpture with small LED light constructions cascading up and down its plastic steps. Segments of clear plastic were pieced together to build a journey of lig
Radiations 1 2016 Acrylic and canvas mounted on panel 26” x 22”
Radiations Painting 2 2016 Acrylic and canvas mounted on panel 24" x 18"
Radiations Drawing 2016 Gouache on Fabriano Tiziano paper 27.5" x 39.5"
Radiations Drawing 2016 Gouache on Arches paper 30" x 22.75"
Radiations Drawing 2016 Gouache on Arches Paper 30" x 22.75"