060 http://www.AmericanArtCollector.com
also been artist in residence at the Bemis
Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha,
Nebraska, and the Vermont Studio Center
in Johnson, Vermont.
In residence at Kala, he began experi-
menting with “integrating screen printing
into my painting practice. I began mixing
mechanical and painting processes, which
you are aware of when you see the paint-
ings in person—whereas they look flat in
reproduction,” he says. “It’s a sly illusion-
istic language where I pull the puppet
strings but reveal them. I’m traditionally
minded but I’m trying to find ways of
questioning our way understanding. You
can see the process in my paintings and
the materiality of acrylic paint sort of arti-
ficializes the thing I’m painting. I’m playing
with how things are perceived, but it’s very
much about the hand, very much about the
tradition of painting.”
He has developed a relationship with
nature, living in California, producing a
series of paintings inspired by Dutch still
lifes, of the endangered flora and fauna of
the state. “I’m not a particularly outdoorsy
person but I’m learning what it means to
live in a world that’s changing and not
doing so well. I’m finding the beauty in a
crumbling world as well as an immense
connection,” he explains. “The history of3
Just Like Honey, acrylic
on canvas, 42 x 62".
Courtesy the artist and
Hirschl & Adler Modern,
NY. Photo © Cary
Whittier.4
Luna di Sangue, acrylic
on canvas over panel,
32 x 24”. Courtesy the
artist and Hirschl & Adler
Modern, NY. Photo ©
Cary Whittier.5
Hyper-Opulence, acrylic
on canvas, 42 x 32".
Courtesy the artist and
Hirschl & Adler Modern,
NY. Photo © Cary
Whittier.34