This Portrait of Syringa was recently featured in "Modigliani and The Modern Portrait," at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn, NY. This historic exhibition showcased the portraiture of Amedeo Modigliani, along with the works of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Man Ray, Gaston Lachaise, David Hockney and Chuck Close among others. This portrait was also a Smithsonian Institution National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, 2022 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Semifinalist.
I celebrate the subtleties of identity by creating fictional visual biographies from historically marginalized communities and underrepresented voices. Combining abstraction and realism with a focus on metaphor and symbolism, each of these mixed media works is composed of many subtle layers of pigmented beeswax, photographs, and abstract drawings. The photographic elements are a fusion of reclaimed and reimagined vintage photographs, along with my digital photographs that I combine and repurpose to add narrative texture. I manipulate the image by exaggerating, adding and subtracting physical attributes to create illusory detail. I develop a series of paintings by creating an imagined fellowship, community, geographic location, or cultural bond to further enrich the narrative in my work.
