Infinite Morphologies

Artist Statement

It is the poetics of form that guides my work: how a piece of red coral suggests a muscle or the pattern of a fingerprint. It is reflected in the bilateral symmetry of an orchid suggesting the symmetry of our bodies, or the structures of growth and form in elements such as gold, silver and copper, and in the intricate architecture of lichen.

In each of these subjects, a story is told of the development of life from simple to complex; shape shifting through deep time to this very moment. We are a mystery within a mystery; our best scientific theories cannot fathom the emergence of consciousness. My paintings are an intuitive investigation of the deep currents of protean forms developing through time to bring us here.

I believe that the beauty we feel when we look at certain organic forms is an echo; we feel these forms not just in our mind and eyes, but in our bodies as well. I use composition and color to create visual music. My subjects float or rest in a dynamic space, the cadences of feeling are choreographed movements to convey the sea and the sky and this vast ocean of life of which we are a part.

The diaphanous veils of color that fill my backgrounds are based on NASA imaging of dark matter; a web-like gravitational structure that fills the universe, organizing galaxies into clusters. Dark matter is still a mystery and though imperceptible, it makes itself known through gravitational distortions.

We are mirrors reflecting the spirit that animates the universe. Beauty is an awareness in the mind. When we see beauty in form we are feeling something fundamental to our deepest nature; it is a response to the ordering principle that brought life into this world.