I am an Australian painter currently residing in Seoul. I hold a Masters of Studio Art from Sydney University and Bachelor of Visual Arts (Painting) from the ANU in Canberra.
I paint abstract landscapes informed by the myriad shapes, patterns, surfaces and spaces which make up urban environments, particularly the vast and dense landscape of Seoul. I see all art, including my own, as spaces of refuge and reflection.
Art is, figuratively speaking, a grotto of meditation separate from the standard psychological modes we experience throughout most of our day. They are portals; pathways to alternative possibilities. I try to obfuscate to some degree the spectators' expectations. Underpinning the notion of a portal is a sense of separation not immersion; something seen from afar or through a filter; removed or unattained.
Art is always searching, never quite realising, only glimpsing at what lies beyond. The pursuit of new information and knowledge is where beauty lies. The spirit of curiosity gives meaning and compels us to explore and create. The juxtaposing elements of the city’s modern architectural forms and natural organic structures - be it mountains, forests, rivers or clouds - emerge and interact within my paintings.
The combination of geometric hard-edge abstraction and expressionistic gestural mark making reflects these features. I adhere to certain formalistic tendencies informed by training in image craft and construction and then play with ambiguities and contradictions in that perceived space.