Being an artist has never been a question or a choice to me- more a matter of fact and resolution. I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. My early childhood was spent either drawing or playing in the dirt. Playing in the dirt eventually led to playing baseball and drawing turned to painting. By the time I earned my BFA in painting from The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1987, my course had been set- though I feel I knew what my path was from a very early age. After college I moved back to Chicago and worked at a several jobs in a variety of fields including construction, engraving and horticulture. Each of these fields had an influence on my work: construction expanded my understanding of materials; engraving showed me the beauty and subtle nuances of surfaces and horticulture the ever-unfolding process and transformation of life. I eventually earned my MFA from Northwestern University in 1992 and began teaching at DePaul University three months later; I have been teaching in The Department of Art and Media Design at DePaul ever since.
The paintings that I am currently working on are, of course the culmination of a lifetimes worth of experiences: from raising children to traveling to gardening- but more specifically the current work is an evolution that began approximately three years ago. I would classify my current body of work as being an organic abstraction with roots in symbolism and spirituality. I no longer see the Judeo Christian symbolism that once permeated through my earlier paintings. These paintings are much more personal, based less on an external ideology but rather a personal one. For me the painting process is like looking in a mirror, but the reflection I see is not necessarily of what is or what once was, when I look what I find is a glimpse into what has yet to come.
Biography
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009 As Above, So Below, 33 Collective Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2007 Segments, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2006 Myths & Vessels, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2004 Recent Works, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2003 Objects and Elements, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2001 Brief Moments, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2000 Selected Earth Works 1992-2000, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1993 Recent Painting and Constructions, Artemesia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009 Juried Self-Portrait Show, group show, 33 collective, Chicago, Illinois
2009 Collective Resonance, group show, 33 collective, Chicago, Illinois
2008 Members Show, group show, 33 collective, Chicago, Illinois
2007 Drift, group show, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2006 Night Paintings -group show, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2006 1+1+1- three person show, Beacon Street Gallery Chicago, Illinois
2005 Faculty Exhibition, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
2005 Miniature -group show, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2005 The Bird Show, group show, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2004 Recent Works, Two person show, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2002 Faculty Exhibition, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
2002 The Andersonville Gun Show, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2001 Artists Alumni, Block Museum, Evanston, Illinois
2000 Hidden Treasures, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2000 Correspondence, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
1999 Surface, Symbol and light, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1999 Gallery Artists’ benefit show, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1999 Eros, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1996 End of the Decade Show, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1995 Scorpio Moon Rising, Artemesia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1995 Chicago Abstract Artists Show, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1995 special Collections - Faculty Exhibition, Depaul University, Chicago, Illinois
1994 Faculty Exhibition, Evanston Arts Center, Evanston, Illinois
1994 Sound Structures, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1993 Faculty Exhibition, Evanston Arts Center, Evanston, Illinois
1992 Graduate Thesis Exhibit, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
1992 CAA/MFA Graduate Student Exhibition, Gallery II-SAIC, Chicago, Illinois
1991 Graduate MFA Exhibit, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
1990 Group Intaglio Show, Galleria Talento, Cancun, Mexico
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1992
Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 1987
GALLERY AFFILIATIONS
33 Collective Gallery, Chicago, IL
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