Worthy Painting

We are living in the most data rich period in the history of the world. While extraordinary human progress has been made since the Enlightenment, it seems that recently so much information is begin generated that we are lost in our ability to absorb and apply it meaningfully. In the search for Wisdom and Truth, there is simply too much noise and not enough signal. My latest series of trompe l'oeil paintings addresses this concept through images of vertical stacks of my favorite books seen directly from above. The cropped edges of these texts hint at partial knowledge, creating juxtaposed connections of ideas and flat abstracted planes. Beyond the illusion of these paintings, there lies an awareness of the struggle to find new meaning in the collision of incomplete ideas, both old and new. ​ Inspired by the color field abstractions of Josef Albers and the 19th century still life paintings of William Harnett, I hope to walk the edge between naturalism and abstraction to explore how access to excess information can often obscure Wisdom and hide Truth. Naturalism versus abstraction, secularism versus faith, real versus illusion; these juxtapositions are ongoing themes in my work. Hidden in plain sight, riddles are revealed in the layers of painted objects. Beyond the illusion of these paintings, there lies an awareness of the struggle to find new meaning in the collision of old ideas. Like the alchemist, I continue to pursue the elusive.