Artist Statment

My paintings evoke aspects of the natural world while symbolizing societal patterns and the toll they take on the body, particularly in relation to gender. My work is deeply influenced by time spent outdoors, walking in the woods, observing seasonal shifts, and developing an intuitive understanding of plants and landscapes. These moments of close observation compel me to depict not just the appearance of nature, but also the patterns, recurrences, and tensions that form the foundational structures of organic life.

My paintings explore how the exploitation and trivialization of the environment mirrors the treatment of women and femininity. These themes are subtly incorporated and emerge under the surface of my work. Many of my works are inspired by my own experiences with misogyny and the disregard of female autonomy. Within these experiences, I often find comfort in the natural world. In my art, I draw reference to the body and embed it within the environment, thinking about ideas such as autonomy and belonging. The complexities and intricate systems found in nature create spaces that are not based in androcentrism — the practice of placing male human beings or a masculine perspective at the center of culture, history, or society. With my paintings, I intend to exemplify and reference these non-androcentric spaces and the emotions that they evoke. Much of my work focuses on an up-close examination of these systems displayed at a macro level as surface paintings on my canvas.

References to anatomy and the body are a very significant aspect of my work. In specific paintings such as Bodily Topography and Reflections, I use the patterns and textures of the subjected environment to reference or hint at figures or aspects of anatomy without fully rendering them, blurring the line between naturalistic and anatomic representation. This is reflective of ways in which I have felt safer in or more connected to environments uninhabited by humanity and subsequently society and societal ideals.

In creating these paintings, I work through the process of layering, repetition, and allowing forms to unfold gradually. I often begin with observational sketches or photographs, then translate those impressions into larger compositions that expand and abstract on these references. My main medium is oil on canvas, which allows me to experiment with and utilize the materiality of my paints and how they interact with my surfaces, via layering, dripping, and mark-making, to create abstract pattern systems. Through these formal decisions, I stray away from traditional nature paintings instead creating my own unique spaces. Through this deliberate process of layering, repetition, and gradual unfolding, I am mirroring the cycles of nature itself, embedding my themes directly into the act of making