The Hidden Series

This series of paintings came out of a sudden inspiration to paint helium balloons. I started sketching and lost count at around 30 compositions. I didn't own the chair I had so clearly envisioned, and I didn't have a studio. Because of the wish to create these paintings, I was prompted to rent my first studio, a beautiful space in an old piano factory, flooded with light and full of tranquil silence. I began to play with space and to compose the plane, arranging and rearranging a limited visual vocabulary, seeing whether I could poetically describe the situations I was going through at the time. I didn't show the work for several years. When I finally did, I saw the viewers' emotional reactions and they told me their experiences that resonated with these images. I learned that sharing the details of my personal narrative is not that interesting to me. I focus instead on how we all have to go through certain emotional life experiences, and if I can reveal an essential image about that, people can access their experiences in the presence of the work without feeling exposed in their response or obligated to relate to my own story. Paintings can create a meditative space that allows people to be alone with the work and evident to themselves in a safe setting. The images share this in common with devotional icons and altar pieces.
And yes, I found the chair.