STATEMENT
I’m interested in memory and how people process their memories. I think about my own past and the people who have influenced me from the beginning of my life. Great school teachers, close friends and even not so close friends. But memories fade, even the most important ones.
I was the head mental health counselor of a locked psychiatric unit in Boston where I was responsible for hundreds of patients. I had a realization during that job that the incredible untold stories of those unknown lives were going to be buried in that institution and so as an artist I felt compelled to preserve those stories. When I come across a familiar song or a scent in my everyday life those memories are triggered and I remember the importance of those people from my past.
And so I re-created that experience in my interactive installation. I place a portrait of my subject, which are painted on wood, in a plexiglass case filled with seawater that will dissolve the portrait over a lengthy period of time. Attached to the plexiglass case is a small box filled with a scent representative of the subject such as juicy fruit gum, musty books, tobacco, or old leather from a motorcycle jacket. Also attached is an iPod filled with music or an interview that is the soundtrack to this person’s life..
As in real life our visual memories of even the most important people from our past fade, my portraits also disappear. We are left with only the scents and sounds which serve as powerful memory triggers to remind us of that person’s existence and influence.
When we come across those senses in the real world we are transported into that specific memory bringing that person back to life even for just a moment. It's essentially a homage building a connection to the past. There’s importance in never forgetting.
RESUME
SOLO SHOWS
O’HANLON CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2023 Installation. John Trudell - Mill Valley, CA
WINE KITCHEN GALLERY 2017 Small Stories - San Francisco, CA
FIRST PERSON GALLERY 2016 New Perspective - San Francisco, CA
ELSEWHERE GALLERY 2015 Sentiment Of Memory - Fairfax, CA
SPRING STREET GALLERY 2014 Small Stories - New York, NY
ART WORKS DOWNTOWN GALLERY 2014 Small Stories - San Rafael, CA
GROUP SHOWS
BG GALLERY 2023. Monochrome - Los Angeles, CA
O’HANLON CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2023. A New Perspective - Mill Valley, CA
O’HANLON CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2022. Painting With Pixels - Mill Valley, CA
BG GALLERY 2022 Art Fair, Fort Mason Art Center - San Francisco, CA
O’HANLON CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2022 Monochrome - Mill Valley, CA
BG GALLERY 2021. Art Fair - Los Angeles, CA
MVVO GALLERY 2020. The Oculus - New York City
MVVO GALLERY 2019. The Oculus - New York City,
BG GALLERY 2019 Art Fair - LA Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA
MVVO GALLERY 2018 Sotheby’s - New York City, NY
BG GALLERY 2018. Oval - Los Angeles, CA
ART WORKS DOWNTOWN GALLERY 2017. Small Works - San Rafael, CA
ART WORKS DOWNTOWN GALLERY 2016. Still Life - San Rafael, CA
DUTFIELD GALLERY 2014. Portraits - New York, NY
THE COPLEY SOCIETY GALLERY 2012. The Magic Of Oil - Boston, MA
PUBLICATIONS
COLLECTORS' ART BOOK VOL.02 INTERVIEWS WITH ARTISTS. Al-Tiba9 2022
VOLUME 18 2012 ,Studio Visit Magazine
