Artist Statement / Current Work:
I am building my current series of drawings and paintings with organic abstract forms that express my fascination with the physical, biological processes of birth, growth and transformation and the relationship those processes have with the passage of time. The forms I create imply an imagined rhizome-based biology, intended to suggest, rather than depict, growing life forms, such as bones, organs or stones, seemingly arrested in a moment of time. Even though the work is, at its core, a product of imagination, it was inspired by a real-life experience.
While viewing the sonogram of our baby when her mother was twenty-two weeks and two days pregnant, I felt a renewed sense of awe and amazement with the mysterious, tenacious and continually changing physicality of life. That cathartic moment continues to drive the work forward as I experiment with mixing various media, including graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, paint and installation elements. The work continues to grow and change, as do the very life forms that inspire it.
Resume:
•Education: M.F.A. California State University, Long Beach, 1987
B.F.A. University of Texas at Arlington, 1975
•Selected Exhibitions and Commissions (2010-Present):
"Inside/Out," Group exhibition Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California
“Ethos,” Juried group online exhibition Linus Art Galleries Pasadena, Long Beach, California
“Threads of Life,” Three-person exhibition, GCS Gallery, 209 N. Broadway Santa Ana, California
“Energy,” International juried exhibition, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California • Juried by Howard N. Fox, Curator Emeritus of Contemporary Art, L.A. County Museum of Art
“Emerging Artists,” Invitational group exhibition, DAC (Downtown Art Center) Gallery, Los Angeles, California
“Teach Me a Thing or Two,” invitational exhibition, The Gallery, 200 W. Birch Street Brea, California
Commissioned ink drawings, Jack and Jill Guild (fund-raising agency for Children’s Hospital of California)
Commissioned outdoor mural, "Positano, Italy" Mr. and Mrs. Terry Zupan Banning, California
“Orange County Bienalle,” Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, California
“Surrealism and Neo-narrative,” juried exhibition, Long Beach Arts Association, Long Beach, California
“Ink and Clay,” 32nd Annual juried exhibition, The Kellogg Gallery, California State University, Pomona, California
“Tin Cup,” Invitational exhibition, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California
“Directions,” juried exhibition, Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, California • Juried by Peter Frank
“Abstraction: Three Contemporary Approaches,” Three-person exhibition, Fine Arts Gallery, Long Beach City College Long Beach, California
“The Real Thing,” juried exhibition, Brea Cultural Center Gallery Brea, California
“29th. Annual Open Exhibition,” San Bernardino County Museum San Bernardino, California
“Personal Statements,” Invitational group exhibition, American Friends Service Committee Gallery Pasadena, California
“Double Visions,” Two-person exhibition, Upstairs Gallery, Placentia, California
• Selected Private / Public Collections:
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
University of North Texas, Denton
Fullerton College, Fullerton, California
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Zupan, Banning, California
Dr. Rex Bullock, Corona, California
Dr. Gene Cooper, Laguna Beach, California
Bob and Beverly Egan, Garden Grove, California
Steve and Pam Kandis, Ranch Palos Verdes, California
Ms. Doris Miller, Abilene, Texas
• Exhibition Reviews / Articles:
• “See the Oils,” Benjamin Epstein, Los Angeles Times. Orange County Edition, March 30, 1995, p. 27 “O.C. Live”
• “The Lure of Abstraction,” Kinney Littlefield, Long Beach Press Telegram, October 20, 1991, p. 17
• “Artists Create Global Message,” Gary Robbins, Orange County Register, April 23, 1990, p. A7
• Teaching Experience (1988-Present):
Fullerton College Art Department
Fullerton, California
Professor of Art
Drawing, Painting, Intro to Art
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