6th Street Art Studios | Artist-in-Residence | Spring 2024
Connecting in the Face of Disconnection
I am an emerging artist working out of the Greater Los Angeles Area. My artistic pursuits involve
creating abstract paintings that explore the interplay among self-entitlement, consumerism, and
our collective disconnection from nature and sentient beings. I have shown abstract works in
juried group shows in California and Missouri.
Although I have created many portraits (one of which is hanging within the chambers of the
United States Supreme Court), my main focus over the last 7 years has been abstraction. My
goals are to teach workshops at museums that lie within the Greater Los Angeles Area and to
also show work at some of these museums. As a step toward these goals, I aim to develop my
paintings by including new materials, such as resin, metals, plexiglass, and trash. I would like to
explore 3 artistic endeavors during the residency with 6th Street Art Studios.
The first concept is that of reverse painting on the backside of plexiglass with the intention
that the viewer would first see the art through the other, glossy side before examining the
“underbelly” of each piece. I would like to incorporate rope in this piece with colored resin to
represent the frustration of “pissing up a rope” in an apathetic and self-consumed world.
The second concept that I aim to explore revolves around framing. I intend to weld scrap metals
into a frame as a way to upcycle and create a dystopian impression in contrast to a calmer
painting within.
The third concept will combine aspects of the first two: I will collect trash, place it into a mold that I will create, surround it with resin, and polish it to encapsulate another calm-ish piece.
Each of these endeavors focuses on the push and pull of connection and disconnection. During
the residency, I am looking forward to working with the community, teaching classes, and being
challenged by other artists. This is a way to connect in the face of a blue-screen-driven
disconnected world.