High Society (2016) is a series of works on paper in graphite that utilize photographic imagery from Dolce and Gabbana advertising campaigns. Through drawing I have placed each actor into a more subversive realm, where their romanticized postures confront a backdrop of third world struggles.
This series of drawings is titled Trumpeteers (2016) and was drawn leading up to and after the election of President Donald Trump in the 2016 United States Presidential Election. It looks at the emotions portrayed by facial expressions in both conflicts leading up to the election, as well as the responses of Trump’s supporters to the announcement of the election results.
These drawings were done in preparation for the paintings in 2016-2017 “levitate/gravitate series”. They are conte crayon on sheets of 18”x24” drawing pad. They are the result of approximately 4 hours sessions with the wonderful people who acted as live models for this research. During the sessions I explored poses that could later be turned in orientation to distort a viewers sense of gravity. Also, as you may notice I often tape sheets together when needed to obtain the full figure, and break the frame of the usual rectangle.
Hot Nights, Wet Dreams (2013-2014) is a series that explores sexual taboo, voyeurism, human desire and it’s exploitation through visual allusions to workers in the sex trade and other characters who occupy these late night street scenes of underground commerce. The series explores fictional narratives within this context, but was inspired by situations I witness while on an artist residency in Barcelona, Spain. These are graphite drawings done in a sketchbook, approx sized 11”x14” each.
