“I don’t think artists have particularly bright ideas…" [What do they have?] “I guess their talent of painting things...” Willem de Kooning
A harsh critique. Probably true.
The Artifacts works imagine dialogues of invented semiotic languages and curious constructed objects as artifacts of long ago interactions with an unseen interdimensional or ancient lost civilization.
Inspired by the idea of the monolith in Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey", the paintings and objects attempt to capture moments of the mysterious transfer of otherworldly knowledge and awareness and to locate those events in some time or place or some state of mind.
While precise details of this narrative remain open ended, the paintings and objects function independently as metaphors for the mystery of consciousness, the activity of thought, and the birthing of ideas.
Below are some works from 2023- 2024:
The Recognition of Self, 18"x24", acrylic, oil, charcoal, oil stick on panel, 2023
The Birth of Reason, 36"x 36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, oil stick, on canvas, 2023. (Private Collection)
The Formation of Logic , 36"x 36", acrylic, oil, pigment, on canvas, 2023.
The Ratio of Logic and Reason, 36"x 36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, on canvas, 2023
The Generation of Ideas, 36"x 36", acrylic, oil, pigment, oil stick, on canvas, 2023
The Discovery of Time, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, gold, on canvas, 2023
The Organization of Predictable Events, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, charcol, on canvas, 2023
The Dawn of Weapons and Tools, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, gold, charcoal on canvas, 2023
The Reification of Gravity and Inertia, 36" x 36", acrylic, oil, pigment, charcoal on canvas, 2023
The Sudden Awareness of Missing Time, 36" x 36", acrylic, oil, dry pigment, on canvas, 2023
The First Use of Hammer and Tongs, 36" x 36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, pigment, oil stick, on canvas, 2023 (Private Collection)
The Alteration of Time and Space, 36"x 36", oil, acrylic, charcoal, dry pigment, on canvas, 2023
The Intersection of Wakefulness and Dreams, 36" x 36", oil, acrylic, gold leaf, charcoal, dry pigment, on canvas, 2023-4.
The Selection and Use of Appropriate Tools, 36" x 36", oil, acrylic, charcoal, pigment, on canvas, 2024
The Discovery of Magnets, 36" x 36", oil, acrylic, charcoal, dry pigment, encaustic, enamel, on canvas, 2024.
The Alignment of Atoms and Production of Steel, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, silver leaf, charcoal on canvas, 2024 (Private Collection)
The Summarization of The Theory of Everything, 36"x36", acrylic, oil on canvas, 2024 (Private Collection)
The Evaluation of Personal Belief, 36" x 36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, silver leaf, on canvas, 2024
The Introduction of Multiplied Force , 36" x 36", acrylic, oil, gold leaf, pencil, on canvas, 2024
The Retrieval of Association and Memory, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, charcoal on canvas, 2024
The Ratio of Thoughts and Deeds, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, gold leaf, glitter on canvas, 2024
The Extraction of Minerals, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, glass on canvas, 2024
The Vibration of Substance and Precision of Order, 36"x36", acrylic, oil on canvas, 2024
The Exit of Location and Continuance of Thought, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, pigment, on canvas, 2024
The Organization of Unexplainable Events, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, gold leaf on canvas, 2024
The Mapping of Stars, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, conte, gold leaf on canvas, 2024 (Private Collection)
The Forge Of Language, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, gold leaf on canvas, 2024.
The Introduction of Plasma Electricity, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, conte, glitter on canvas, 2024 (Private Collection)
The Capture of Racing Thoughts, 36"x36", acrylic, oil, charcoal, glass, pigment, medium, on canvas, 2024
"Objects", each approx. 8" x 12", carved cedar, pine, osage, copper, aluminum, steel, wire, hemp, paint .
Installation view of "Unseen" exhibit at the Weston Gallery in the Aronoff Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 23-Mar 24, 2025.