Tell a little bit about how you first got into creating art.
I recall drawing all the time as a child. In primary school our librarian was from Ukraine, and she organized an art exchange between our school in the US and a school there. I was truly excited by that experience. I was not pursuing an art major at the
university I attended, but took an advanced drawing course and was lucky to get a quirky professor who actually dared me to take more classes. It was a good tactic I was an art major the next term.
Color is perhaps one of the most dominant and continual visual experiences of the world we inhabit and the images we make
What artists or movements have had an impact on you?
I have taught art history at the university level many times so names and works of artists do roll around in my head. I would say that Op Art and Bridget Riley are an influence. Conceptual art and minimalism as well intrigue me. But I also paint, and I believe the early work of Elizabeth Murray is phenomenal.
What themes does your work involve? What is important to you about the visual experiences you create?
If I had to distill it to a simple statement, it would be something like this. My work is about transformation, energy, and flux. Art for me does not represent something, it is something living, dynamic, and fascinating. There is a story in that though it probably is not human-centric.
I work outward from the material (media) itself and test the possibilities of using these tools in different ways
What is the significance of media and color?
Every mediated form of art brings a bias, but also the opportunity to tap into the signals and structures of our visual age. Color is perhaps one of the most dominant and continual visual experiences of the world we inhabit and the images we make.
Do you work from memory, life, photographs, or from other resources? Describe your creative process.
I work outward from the material (media) itself and test the possibilities of using these tools in different ways. It takes a great deal of experimentation and some tampering with the technology itself, but I have always found some way to make it do something unique. I am currently doing this with 3D modeling programs.
Do you have any artistic goals for the future that you would like to share?
Yes, I am collaborating with some computer science friends to build a streaming video feed for commercial and residential buildings in which the visuals change tempo as well as a quiet audio feed as the foot traffic in the building fluctuates.
What do you consider the role of an artist today?
This is a wonderful question, but the answer must be incredibly individualistic, in my opinion, since we are artists not bankers. I have struggled professionally with finding representation and opportunities since moving to and living in the rural south of the United States. I have come to the realization in the past few years that what I hope my work can potentially do is inspire people who see my work to think and act more creatively, stir within them a sense of wonder, and possibly a new way of seeing or looking at our world.
