I am an MFA Graduate Student at Hunter College, studying painting, class of 2012. When I'm not in the studio, I'm working as a laboratory manager for Paul Nurse at Rockefeller University.
My paintings explore the visual experience of seeing. I borrow ideas from optical art, but translate them into my own language, making them lyrical, gestural, full of imperfection, handmade and personal. I want my paintings to express motion, movement and energy. The choice of bold colors and patterns catches the attention of the viewer from afar, and the large-scale format surrounds the viewer up-close, creating a mesmerizing and meditative experience.
In my current body of work, I am exploring moire patterns, the optical effect that occurs when two similar but non-identical line patterns are overlapped, causing a third pattern to appear. I have been working with watercolor, acrylic and flashe paint on paper, but recently have begun a series of acrylic paintings directly on canvas. The shift to canvas from paper has allowed me to experiment with colored grounds, putting more of an emphasis on color interactions, and drawing on my studies in color theory. Additionally, the less-absorbent surface allows a new kind of mark making that I quite enjoy. By layering washes of paint I can achieve complex, rich regions of color - and by adding different mediums, I create a range of different textures as well.
Prior to entering Hunter’s MFA program, I completed a Master’s in Neuroscience at The University of California, Berkeley. While I don’t consciously draw from my scientific background when making my work, the processes of critical thinking, creative problem solving and experimentation that I practice in the laboratory also augment my artistic process. In a way, I do take a scientific approach with my work, and one could interpret my moire paintings as a visual exploration of an optical phenomenon. I am fascinated by visual perception; how the eye perceives colors and shapes, and how the brain interprets them. In the end, however, it is the painting itself, rather than the science, than motivates me to create.
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