Artist Statement

Painting is the most satisfying way for me to achieve what Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi calls the psychology of optimal experience, or flow. It is only through the transformative power of the creative process that I can step into the void of memory, where subconscious traumas—and the generational legacy of pain, grief, and death—are excised and split open anew. I work smoothly, without hesitation or doubt—unfettered by the day’s stress and anxieties, unburdened by the psychological weight of the subjects I seek to examine and bring to light. Through the painting of portraiture, I reflect on and analyze the psycho-social dynamics and inherited pathology within myself, my lineage, and my community, seeking both to understand and to transmute.

I work extensively with the body, using it as both canvas and collaborator in an ongoing dialogue about empowerment and the expansive possibilities of body positivity and acceptance. Through body painting, I seek—intuitively and intimately—to explore the psyche and emotionality of the form, uncovering layers of identity, vulnerability, and strength. These living compositions blur the lines between body and medium, allowing historical, social, and political themes to emerge organically. Through this embodied practice, I explore how generational trauma is inscribed on the flesh—how it lingers, adapts, and sometimes, through art, begins to heal. Gesture, color, and form become vessels for rewriting inherited narratives, challenging imposed ideals, and celebrating the inherent beauty and complexity of the human experience.

In my Emergence series, I often utilize color and line to visually link and intertwine drips of paint, creating abstract, dimensional landscapes that I build up over the surface of faces as they emerge from the atmosphere of the painting. The bold colors reflect psychological disarray and manifestations of trauma as it is warped and shaped through time, memory, and generational experience. Within these landscapes, the figures strive to transcend their physical boundaries, resisting containment and reclaiming their agency. The contrast between the agonized representations of the figure and the expressive, vibrant palette evokes a deceptive sense of decay and discord—held in tension with an undercurrent of resilience, harmony, and hope.