In my work, I focus on white supremacy’s relationship to the privileged spaces of my experiences, such as private art and educational institutions. Amidst widening gaps in wealth and opportunity, discussions about race, power, justice, and representation—across visual culture broadly—seem more relevant than ever.

In many of my compositions, which reference real sites, I have inserted fictional elements to raise questions about the allegiances and priorities of these institutions, as well as people—including myself—who have benefitted from, or continue to support them. The resulting works are representational, but through gestural passages and color and surface manipulation, I aim to suggest instability, corrosion, and decay. In the end, I strive to make engaging paintings that suggest dissonance and ambivalence, that entice and challenge viewers, just as painting them does for me.

These paintings are rooted in my contemplating Whiteness and emerge from wrestling with the politics of painting—the connections and gaps between painting and lived experience. They also reflect a love of paint, the act of painting, and the power of the painted image, a regard for practitioners past and present, as well as those for whom the practice has not been possible, and admission of painting’s complicity with hegemonic power.

As always, my process remains driven by questions. In this case, questions like: What role does painting play in the face of concrete social crises? How can my paintings respectfully incorporate­—rather than exploit—relevant and thought-provoking content and imagery? What does it mean to think about racism, dehumanization, injustice, etc., and then to paint such pictures, and in particular as a straight, White man?

These questions and this body of work owe much to the work of others, and most acutely to four scholars’ books in particular: The History of White People, by Nell Irvin Painter; Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities by Craig Steven Wilder; The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander; and White Rage, by Carol Anderson. I am greatly indebted to the depth of research and insight that these books represent; each was inspiring as much as it was devastating.  These people’s work, among others, influenced my own immeasurably, concretely sparking ideas for compositions, and more ephemerally—but equally importantly—by setting a standard, a tone, and a spirit for me in the studio that I strive to honor.

There is always danger in making art in response to inhumanity and suffering. I do so sincerely and humbly, without claiming success or certainty. And certainly, I recognize that painting has its limitations when compared to direct social action. That said, I believe art enables interaction and introspection for individuals, as well as creates opportunities for dialogue and discussion. My hope is that these works communicate a degree of internal struggle—among and between compositions, materials, processes, intents, and experiences—but, even more importantly, provoke conversation and critical thought.

EDUCATION

2005      MFA, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA

1999      BA, Yale University, New Haven, CT

 
SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018      Armillaria, Clayton Center for the Arts, Maryville College, Maryville, TN

2017      Root Rot, Fred Giampietro Gallery, New Haven, CT

2015      White Tide, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

2014      Bounty, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles at VOLTA/NY, New York, NY

2013      Engagement Party, Cummings Arts Center, Connecticut College, New London, CT

2011      Toward Trinity, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

2010      Full Spectrum Dominance, Sam Lee Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2008      No Exit, Luis De Jesus | Seminal Projects, San Diego, CA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019      No Dead Artists (juried by Carmon Colangelo, Robyn Dunn Schwartz, and Nick Korniloff), Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA

              Saturation Point (Two-person show with Timothy McDowell), Cummings Arts Center, Connecticut College, New London, CT

2018      City-wide Exhibition, Artspace, New Haven, CT

2017      City-wide Exhibition, Artspace, New Haven, CT
              Pictures of Nothing (curated by Arie Akkermans, with catalog), Pg Gallery, Istanbul
              The Plot Thickens (curated by Martha Willette Lewis), The Gallery at the Institute Library, New Haven, CT

2016      Holiday Exhibition, Fred Giampietro Gallery, New Haven, CT

              City-wide Exhibition, Artspace, New Haven, CT

              Faculty Exhibition, Cummings Arts Center, Connecticut College, New London, CT

2015      Both One and Another, (juried by Jaclyn Conley), Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
              City-wide Exhibition, Artspace, New Haven, CT

              Improvised Showboat #6, (curated by Zach Keeting and Lauren Britton), Fountain Street Studios, Pawtucket, RI

2014      City-wide Exhibition, Artspace, New Haven, CT

2013      The New World, (curated by Roman Stollenwerk), Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
              Group Exhibition, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

              City-wide Exhibition, Artspace, New Haven, CT

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

              United States Embassy, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

              Gateway Community College, New Haven, CT

              Wellington Management, LLP, Boston, MA

              Private Collections in the U.S.A. and Switzerland