concrete, white oak, hand-dyed Icelandic sheepskin, graphite, sand, poetry
white oak, threaded rod, Icelandic sheepskin | 72 x 25.5 x 1.5 in.
white oak | 42 x 35.5 x 1.5 in.
concrete, hand-dyed Icelandic sheepskin | 36 x 8 x 5 in.
concrete, hand-dyed Icelandic sheepskin | 36 x 8 x 5 in.
concrete, hand-dyed Icelandic sheepskin, white oak | 36 x 8 x 6 in.
concrete, hand-dyed Icelandic sheepskin | 28 x 10 x 6 in.
concrete, Icelandic sheepskin, sand | 24 x 20 x 5 in.
concrete, graphite | 28 x 16 x 2 in.
concrete, graphite | 28 x 16 x 2 in.
concrete, graphite | 28 x 16 x 2 in.
white oak, laser engraved poetry | 10.75 x 5.75 x 1.25 in.
2020
Curved Edge explores my interests in minimalism and brutalism while questioning what contributes as masculine art. As a queer person, I honor healthy masculinity through my work yet challenge the stereotypical masculine forms by breaking the hard-geometric lines of concrete with a natural divergence or curvature. Concrete connects my interest with brutalism while also critiquing the political connotations that go along with this style.
My older brother was imprisoned for eight years behind concrete walls and received little help from the institutionalized private-prison monopoly. I critique the prison system while raising an awareness of the injustices that occur to the imprisoned. My work alters the connotation of brutalism and reclaims the style as an appreciation for masculine aesthetics.
This work is broken into four sections: Transferred, Tethered, Bridged, and Painted.
concrete, sand, nylon rope, white oak, graphite, painted plywood
concrete, sand, nylon rope, white oak, graphite, painted plywood
concrete, sand, nylon rope | 10 x 4 x 42 in.
concrete, sand, nylon rope, white oak | 4 x 6 x 30 in. & 4 x 6 x 18 in.
concrete, graphite | 16 x 3 x 28 in.
concrete, sand, nylon rope | 6 x 6 x 36 in. (x2)
concrete, sand, white oak | 36 x 4 x 10 in. (x2)
concrete, graphite | 16 x 3 x 28 in.
concrete, graphite | 16 x 3 x 28 in.
concrete, graphite | 16 x 3 x 28 in.
white oak, painted plywood | 28 x 2.75 x 28 in.
dyed denim, grommets, found wood
white oak, laser engraved poem | 6 x 1.75 x 12 in.
Beneath the oak,
I bowed to the lord and
asked to hear your voice.
You were carried
by birds with feathers sewn. I broke my word
and called a name without sound.
You woke to collect the tongue
filled with wooden splinters.
No longer holding a veil of ghosts,
I gave in to you freely.
Take everything painted grey.
2019
white oak, deer pelt, coyote
This work is a play on the masculine connotations of the mounted deer head and taxidermy. As a queer person growing up in a family of hunters, I felt the need to take an interest in this form of home décor. Now as an adult, I acknowledge this display of masculinity, but I remove the actual bust and antlers of the deer. I drape and secure the pelt over wood as a way to join contrasting materials.
52 x 15 x 1.25 in. | 48 x 12 x 2
7 x 3.5 x 2 in.
7 x 4 x 4.5 in.
36 x 21 x 2 in.
2018
A Familiar House is an installation consisting of a concrete jail cell, cathedral windows made of denim and a poetry chapbook. This work stems from my incarcerated brother’s longing to be home. I depict my brother’s prison in the American West through concrete walls and portray our New England home with poetry. A Familiar House represents the desire for the familiar while confined in an isolated landscape.
This work facilitates a personal relationship with the incarcerated for those who do not have a connection to the perspective of inmates in prison. In the current political climate, with so many families broken apart by a harsh and unsympathetic penal system, my work stands as a representation of the desire to feel a connection with loved ones. A Familiar House validates my brother's longing to be with his family, and critiques the system that divided us.
concrete, steel, sand | 110 x 110 x 78 in.
concrete, sand | 60 x 16 x 27 in.
white oak, denim | 96 x 84 x 1.75 in.
white oak, poetry chapbook | 102 x 8 x 5 in.
2017
My American West Is A Fantasy is my interpretation of the American West through written poetry and made objects. I wrote the chapbook Under the Midnight Sun / I Am Without Horse And That Devil Sun, She Will Rise Again and created objects that act as illustrations.
As a New Englander with no experiential knowledge of the American West, I built the work based on collected images I have gathered through Western films and American literature. My portrayal of the West is both campy and somber.
Cowboy Andy, the cowboy from the poetry, is a reference to my older brother. My brother is in prison in Arizona, yet he hasn’t seen the western landscapes that I have idealized so much. This narrative is my way to cope his absence.
concrete, rattlesnake rattle | 14 x 10.5 x 8 in.
concrete, walnut, chicken skull | walnut 72 x 9 x 1 in. | concrete 24 x 6 x 4 in.
concrete, deer antlers | 51 x 17 x 3 in.
concrete, ash, found print | 20 x 41 x 2.25 in.
concrete, coyote fur, ash | 34 x 8 x 13.5 in.
concrete, pine, sand | 72 x 36 x 36 in.
concrete, walnut, found print | 26 x 41 x 2.25 in.
concrete, walnut, horse hair | 36 x 48 x 12 in.
2016
concrete, walnut, sheep skin
46 x 30 x 4 in.
13 x 6 x 28 in.
2016
concrete, steel, nylon rope
54 x 19 x 6 in.
48 x 24 x 6 in.
30 x 14 x 6 in.
2016
concrete, pine | 24 x 12 x 3 in.
concrete | 24 x 16 x 2 in.
2015
concrete, steel rebar
36 x 36 x 8 in.
2015
concrete, mahogany, plywood
96 x 96 x 5 in.
2015
concrete, mirror, pine, steel rebar
72 x 42 x 4 in.
2014
The Woodlands is a homage to the woods of my hometown. Through this body of work, I depict the preference for natural landscapes over manmade environments. There is a clear distinction between the two settings, but my intent is to abstract the constructed definitions of natural and unnatural. To do this, I leave behind written poetry and concrete objects in the woods as marks of an unknown presence.
concrete, douglas fir, steel rebar | 84 x 42 x 20 in.
concrete, glass | 20 x 12 x 10 in.
concrete, tree branch | 96 x 6 x 6 in.
concrete, pine | 96 x 29 in.
concret, pine | 96 x 57 x 18 in.
