I see the artist’s statement as an intellectual window to the artist’s mind (as opposed to a visual window, which is the art itself). I emphasize the latter. Therefore, my intellectual approach to sculpting cannot be summed up in a tidy, unified paragraph or statement. I do, however, have many scattered thoughts on sculpture, art, life, etc. I offer these thought fragments to you as a glimpse into my window.

The public arena holds a particular interest to me because it reaches everyone and allows viewers to experience art on their own terms. I think the greatest sculpture collections have a variety of styles and mediums as well as subject matter. A well-rounded collection subtly educates the common person about sculpture and creates an interactive timeline of the evolution of sculptural thought. A great figurative piece becomes all the more emotionally powerful when juxtaposed amongst both non-representational and abstract pieces. The experience piece is more satisfying amongst more object-based sculpture. As a result, the viewer is stimulated by the contrast of one style to the next.

The public arena is becoming dominated by extremely large, non-representational pieces and commemorative figurative works. These figurative pieces speak nothing of the human condition, and many the larger works make statements that escape the understanding of the common viewer. My aim is not to debase these pieces; they are a respectable and valid mode of expression. But they should not be the only modes represented.

My current work confronts this trend in two ways: The first proposes to reinvigorate the figure as a modern mode of expression and address the gravity of living in an industrialized nation. Using a mode of expression that speaks to everyone (not just those familiar with the Brancusi and Duchamp-inspired movements), I aim to translate the experience of what it is to be a human animal in a secular society—exploring themes that are basic and primal as well as emotionally complex. I also aspire to produce sculpture that allows all viewers to relate and interpret it within the context of their own lives.

To create a bridge for the common viewer between the classically inspired figurative bronze and the gigantic steel sculpture is the endeavor of the second path. This sculpture:
- Exists for beauty’s sake and allows the viewer to relate to the larger abstraction of the human condition.
- Is dynamic and passionate but not always physically accurate, producing movement of line, form, light and spatial relations.
- Presents clay as the form in motion, not necessarily the anatomy of the figure.

The ultimate goal of my sculpture is to instantly and emotionally engage a viewer. Most viewers’ initial connection comes through the recognition of a relatable form. Upon closer inspection, they see that the piece is more ambiguous than originally perceived. They notice that the forms aren’t realistic depictions, or discern textures not previously seen. This is indicative of my work. I want to draw viewers to a piece with one perception and then allow them to rediscover it—all the while retaining the initial connection.

Sculpting has literally been a physical need for me since clay was introduced to me at six years old. My art is a by-product of this need.

My work seeks to convey a myriad of emotions. I do not presume to dictate what should be felt when my audience views each piece. I believe you can facilitate a direction with the title of the work but the experience must be the viewers.

Forget the shallow stimulation around you. Turn your mind inward. Feel something.

After 10 years of blurring the line between art and reality, I’m not interested in refinement. I want sculpture to be experienced as the act of sculpting, not just the end result of a compositional solution. I want to see tool marks and fingerprints.

Viewing good sculpture should invoke a charged emotional response, like reading poetry or listening to music.

I’m Interested in underlying psychological impulses and universal themes of humanity dealing with being both a higher conscious being, yet fundamentally, an animal.

I find the anticipation of movement more intriguing than action itself: a sculpture not in a state of movement, but one that is about to move.

My sculpture is a by-product of an action that must take place to quell the inward creative impulse and expel raw creative kinetic energy.

Fragments of anatomy are just as moving as a fully realized, highly finished figure. Fragments involve the viewer on an intimate level and inspire imaginative thinking in ways that a full piece can not.

Surface texture defines patina. Prompt the accidents to happen and let the piece take it from there.

Some say the final finish of a sculpture should not distract from the overall form. But as freckles on a face, can figurative sculpture not be finished in a way that doesn’t just accentuate form, but exists only because it is random and beautiful?

A portrait should be a work of art independent of the likeness, a sculpture you would love regardless of visage.

I am looking for something, form and the human form intermixed-lines, balance, man as the larger abstraction.

Humankind has become so desensitized and detached from the things that are most important about being alive. Life has become so much about appointments, responsibilities, etc. that our inner core is lost. In a world overwrought with constant stimulation, most of it frivolous and inane, I wanted to awaken more primal impulses in both myself and others.

I want the viewer to feel the sculptor’s presence as they experience the piece.

The regurgitation of anatomy does not interest me; rather, the translation of anatomy via the filter that is my mind. Go beyond the anatomy to invoke life and the soul within.

Making the shadows speak-finding the right light symbols to stimulate the mind and elicit a response.

I feel contemporary sculpture has become lost in one extreme or the other; lifeless anatomy reproduction or massive abstraction. To me, both are beyond any emotional reach.