Can you tell us about the process of making your work during your artist residency at the Ionion Center for Art and Culture? What kind of new paintings have you created there?
My process is very intuitive. I approach the canvas without knowing what the painting will be, and I let inspiration guide me in the moment, through the brush or palette knife in my hand. As I’ve grown and evolved as a person, my work has also deepened and taken on new life. Here at the Ionion Center, my intuition kept pulling me toward circular, portal-like forms. At first I resisted, but eventually I allowed myself to follow that guidance. The result has been paintings that feel like openings, portals born from trusting the process.
The new paintings I’ve created here carry themes of planting, emerging, and walking through thresholds, as well as discovering, whatever that may mean to the viewer. There are twelve works, and instead of standing alone, they feel like one large story told in sequence. In my last show, each painting had its own life and soul, but this time the sequence itself became the soul, each piece is part of a larger concept. Each viewer has the freedom to explore limitless depth within each painting and within the show as a whole.
Would you define your work in a few words (ideally in 3 words)?
Intuitive, Revealing, Portal
Is there any new artwork that you feel more connected with and if so, i there any particular story behind any new painting that you could share with us?
The work I feel most connected to is a painting I titled Eden’s Return. As I painted, snake-like forms appeared and I kept circling around the concept of the Garden of Eden. I grew frustrated, until I finally let go, I picked up a palette knife and began making raw, emotional marks, not caring about perfection. When I stepped back, I realized: this is the real Garden of Eden , raw, brutal, dark, painful, with no end and no beginning. I felt so connected to it because it mirrors my own life story, and really anyone’s. We’re all trying to return to Eden, but the path is painful and excruciating, and at the same time deeply beautiful.
It looks evident that you are very keen on abstraction; Is it like a current painting series that you try to concentrate on this period or different kind of styles and motifs interest you as well?
I don’t really know what category my work would fall into. Viewers often call it abstraction, but for me, I just paint, whatever wants to come out and through will. I see the canvas as a soul for the viewer, a space of freedom. My intention is often to break out of ‘the box,’ which is why I don’t like placing my art in one. The themes that inspire me most are contrast and polarity, working with darkness and light, with energies, colors, and concepts. Exploring polarity allows the viewer to feel the whole piece and be pulled into it.
Where do you draw inspiration in order to build up your distinctive iconography on canvas? Is it related to personal memories or are they closer to your imagination as an artist?
My inspiration really comes from life itself. Since I was a kid, I’ve always been searching. I remember going into my grandparents’ attic and digging through old boxes, as if I was looking for something specific, though I never knew what it was. I’d get lost up there and fall in love with the feeling of discovery. Looking back, that attic was the beginning of how I’ve lived my life, piecing together the puzzle of who I am. I’ve never stopped searching or asking questions. I notice patterns and follow them like a treasure map, and I believe the world around us offers clues about who we are if we pay close attention. For me, that experience and that ‘knowing’ is what comes through and gets painted on the canvas.
Do specific artworks have been created by random experiments in your studio or do you usually come up with a particular concept or narrative in the very beginning of your artistic process?
Sometimes a painting wants to be painted immediately, and I have to approach it in the moment. Other times a canvas might sit blank for months. Some paintings take twenty minutes, others take nine mo nths. When I step into my artist shoes, the energy becomes the painting and it guides me. I’ll literally hear it, sometimes a painting says, ‘Don’t touch me,’ and I listen. Other times I’ll hear a color, like ‘orange,’ and that becomes the first step, even if it eventually transforms into blue, red, or something else. It’s always layer by layer. There’s no direct formula for my process, it’s entirely intuitive. Titles might come before the first mark, in the middle, or even weeks after. In the end, my work is about trust, trust in the process, trust between my soul, myself, and the canvas.
I wouldn’t call it a ‘fun’ process, because I never truly know what I’m approaching or how it will unfold. But I love the surprise in that unknown, and it feels sacred to me.
Can you mention any artists you, lately or generally, take inspiration from?
My favorite artist of all time is Egon Schiele. I connect deeply with his themes of dark and light, death and rebirth, beauty and ugliness the polarity in he his work resonates with my own. My favorite element in painting is line, and I love the way he uses it. Kiki Smith is another favorite; as a multimedia artist, her work collectively explores what it means to be human and connected to nature. Rembrandt has also been a big influence his use of line and light, and especially when I saw his exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, it completely blew me away and inspired me. I also admire Kandinsky for his sense of transformation, and Picasso for his fearless innovation. And always, Jackson Pollock.
And truly, right now, my greatest inspiration is the world itself. We’re living in a time of chaos and disorder, and that inspires me as an artist who works with polarity and contrast. I believe we are moving toward a world of peace, and by being present, objective, and discerning, we can open our eyes to what is truly happening. That energy naturally finds its way onto my canvas.
What about the place where you work? What’s your studio space look like?
My studio has a story of its own. It’s in the basement of a building that now has a hair salon and other businesses above it, but before that it was a well-known old bar on Water Street in my hometown, Eau Claire Wisconsin USA, where all the bars are. After the renovation, a friend showed me the basement space, they weren’t using it because they had nothing to store there. When I stepped into the back half of the space, I had an out-of-body experience, like I could actually see myself painting there. I went home and immediately texted my friend to ask if I could rent it.
It’s a huge space, full of spirit and energy, even ghosts. The women who work upstairs won’t come down because they feel a presence and are terrified. A man was shot there decades before it was shut down. But I feel like the spirits must like my art:) because I love being there alone late into the night. The best part is the size: I can work on four paintings at once, stack large canvases, and really let the work expand. It’s become more than a studio, it feels like a living part of my process.
Which are your plans for the near future?
I’m not going to lie, I don’t really make plans. I’ve tried to plan my life, but nothing has ever gone according to a plan. My only plan is to become one of the next great fine artists of our time, but I don’t know what that looks like, what it entails, or how I’ll get there. What I do know is that my artwork is a living mirror of my life and my path. One layer at a time, one color at a time. Sometimes I’ll walk through the next one or two doors quickly, and sometimes it takes longer, maybe nine months, when the canvas and I are finally ready.
So while I hold big goals and move forward with resilience and courage, I never really know what’s next. It’s been 15 years since I left art school after my spiritual awakening, and during that time I’ve had visions that have already shown themselves to be true. I believe God didn’t work on me this hard to put me under a rock, and I didn’t work this hard to sit on my hands. Whatever comes next, I’m ready.
All images are courtesy of the artist