"THE SWIMMER" Painting

Since 2023 my main art practice has been mixed media collage. Previously my creative efforts were a more abstract expressionist approach which turned out to be an interesting deviation but ultimately a misfire. After making gesture after gesture and mess after mess I decided to change direction. The newer focus on cutting and pasting has been much more fulfilling. It has allowed me to easily explore geometric abstraction, concrete ideas of creative play and deeper feelings of nostalgia, both within me and the traditionalist modern world. With the newer series of works I’ve developed ways of working within simple geometric frameworks that have allowed more experimentation of the materials and formal elements. This seems to give the surfaces & compositions more visual & tactile depth. One objective is to temper the anxiety of decision making by utilizing simple parameters which makes the process more meditative. The building block & minimalist motifs for me isn’t just about sentimentality for childhood spirit & 20th century modernist forms, its a structure that allows me to explore interior spaces & sensations of what the human condition feels like while expressing a “pre” & “post” ego state. A metaphor for the timeless & abstract nature of pure creative potential in and of itself. Its also a way to contemplate experiences & impose sensations or ideas onto something that feels more impersonal, universal & foundational. If there is any post-modern irony in these works then it probably would be the uncertain value of self-expressionism & the vulnerabilities of the creative ego. There is a desire for transcendence from our contemporary reality where experiences increasingly feel more transient, de-materialized & meta-individualistic.