Ten Year Paintings

Two trips to Rome—separated by ten years—determined the course of this series and represent the first time I reworked what I thought were finished paintings.

The initial idea, sparked by the long arc of history so evident in Rome, involved the limitations of human experience—the myriad layers that both connect and separate individuals from the rest of the world. Contradictory elements were reflected by paint applied in layers and by fragments of imagery suspended in opposing planes of space.

The idea of fragmentation was clarified further when I saw the remnants of three dimensional carved marble ruins set into newly plastered Roman walls. The visual impact of this ancient timeline—laid out in catacombs and churches, layer upon layer, era upon era, life upon life—set a winnowing process into motion. The five paintings still left in the studio were refined through a deconstructing process that treated composition less literally and left iconic images of the physical wold adrift in indefinable space.