Artist's Statement

 How does one construct an object with memory, with fragments of life; the experience of art, permanent and quiet? For my part I find the experience quite visceral, my work experiments with these ideas using the aesthetic languages that strike me most severely. By deconstructing what speaks strongly to me, I endeavor to create works that don't simply express my experiences, but elicit the same experience in my audience.

My artistic inclination is fundamentally absurdist with a focus on quiet and subtle expression, seeking to explore the silent madness of modern life. Rotting factories and monolithic concrete structures integrating and contrasting into the organic environment from age, the ruins of the Midwest, have held in my mind since childhood. Looming monuments of mystery and power, cathedrals of prosperity to the communities of a recently lost age, reminiscent of the castles and temples of fantasy stories. Expressing my experience of contemporary life by pantomiming objects of magic and fantasy helps me to see the ridiculous nature of life in the digital age, and come to understand how the promises of culture become falsehoods. While I work in many mediums, ceramic is particularly comfortable to me, objects made of clay have great capacity to sit outside of time; clay captures truth readily. I hope those who view my work find an equal measure of anxiety and comedy.