Artist Statement
Exploring queer connections to landscapes, my work links the body and the natural world together. Contour drawings and loose, expressive brushwork also work to blur the boundaries between separate entities–bodies and landscapes become indistinguishable. Painted glass and wood cut in the shape of these contour drawings hang, casting shifting shadows, further dismantling the distinction between figure and setting. The glass grounds of the paintings lend a skin-like quality to the paint, while the reflected light through the brushwork creates a sense of tactility and embodiment. This material and visual sensuality contradict common perceptions of abstract mark-making as a brutish mode of expression. While some landscapes are painted on glass or wood, I also work on traditional linen canvases. Painted frames double as both literal and conceptual portals, framing the work and hinting at the porous, permeable nature of the depicted spaces. Ultimately, my work uses the parodic female figure and fetishized landscapes to invite a more nuanced consideration of the intersections between bodies, desire, and the natural world.