Artist’s Statement

I have an ongoing argument with myself about which fundamental form is the origin of all compositions: is it the square or the circle? I don’t really care to settle this internal argument, but if I pose it as an existential question, it enables me to try to construct topologies based on those two essential forms. As humans, we perceive the world first through shape, then we learn how context gives that shape meaning through composition.

If I look out across a horizontal shoreline and see a vertical form in the distance, I can create context; where flat sky meets sand and sea with a form in juxtaposition, it creates a composition. As I move closer to the vertical shape, maybe I see it’s a person standing, or a towering washed up tree, or a rock formation jutting from the sand. As I move even closer, light striking the form gives me value, and things come in to focus as I perceive the color in the scene; I can then decipher what I see, and ultimately understand what’s before me. This is the artist’s way of seeing: shape or composition first, then value, then color.

Given this framework, I break up that compositional format into shapes. In my case, geometric shapes. I then develop the forms through value, giving them a place within the mise-en-scene of the composition. Color further develops the configuration. While all of this sounds very formal, this concept is the foundation of my artistic process. I find it exciting to explore basic elements within the dynamic of composition.