Empathy Painting

I avoided writing an art statement for almost a decade (when I began painting). Mostly out of insecurity & a distain for artist statements in general. Art statements require a buy in from the viewer that the artist is objective/honest about themselves and their work. Artists, by nature, aren’t objective when it comes to their own work. When I looked at other artist’s statements I saw mostly the same thing; Long pretentious paragraphs where the artist appears ‘more intelligent/woke’ to add clout/depth to their work. For me, the dis-advantages of writing one always outweighed the advantages. Things change. Over time, I’ve understood more about intent + context. Without me giving any to my work, it leaves the space open for people to imagine/insert their own. I paint about human beings. I paint about psychology. I paint about our current place in history. Art for me, should reflect the culture. My responsibility is to create work objectively while also balancing my own vulnerabilities. If I’m going strip back the truth on a certain subject, it requires honesty and vulnerability. At a time where the human race has never had so many advantages, we’ve also never been so collectively unhappy in human history. We’re complex in our beauty & destructive nature’s. I mostly focus on subjects that affect the collective. Like fear, hope, love, abandonment, greed and desire. The intent is simple: Love it. Hate it. I just want to make you feel something.