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Bio

Me & my Nana at my Vox
Populi opening, April, 2008.
We go to the same hair salon
apparently.

Iva & I after our opening at Western Exhibitions....... The backdrop:
Sahar Liquors, Chicago, 01/07.

 

I am a Chicago based artist who is part of the West Town Gallery Network here in the city. 

   My open-ended narratives never seem to settle down. When each work is looked at in its entirety, it adds up to a simple conclusion: something is wrong. That's the feeling I want to start with. The clues that are given won't yield a solution; they are too busy bouncing off each other and only show how far-reaching the wrongness is. As the scene unfolds, this unnerving feeling ensures that each element and its constituent parts add up to a sense of energetic wonder. I depict imaginative worlds in moments of constant transition, creating a tension between static images and dynamic narrative. If things do not become fixed, they cannot be dismissed or forgotten.

Each character is imagined to be duct taped together. They're self-lit frankensteined bits of doodles, visual puns, paint mistakes, and popular and unpopular culture references trying desperately to shed light on their alchemistic surroundings.

I am constantly investigating different ways of compressing multiple events and moments into a single scene, a common conceit of manuscript paintings. The dramatic spatial shifts, violent color palettes, mismatched characters and exotic landscapes create a sense of mystery and wonder, leading the viewer on an irresolvable quest.

 

Please feel free to comment or contact me.  I'll make sure to post any upcoming shows in case you're interested in the News section of my site.  For an extended resume with reviews and stuff, contact me and I'll send you one.

Resume

SOLO/ 2 PERSON SHOWS

Light Up and Be Wonderful!, Western Exhibitions, October 2008
Choke The River With Stone Fingers, Vox Populi, April, 2008
Culture Mutt, with Carl Baratta and Tsherin Sherpa, Green Lantern, Chicago, IL April, 2007
No Coast, No Sea, with Iva Gueorguieva, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL, January 2007
Hurt To Death, Solo Show, Contemporary Art Work Shop, Chicago, IL, May 2006
Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats: Carl Baratta Solo Show, J2 Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, November 2005
5 Solo Shows, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL, September 2005


 GROUP SHOWS

Ah........ Decadence!, Sullivan Gallery, SAIC, Chicago IL September 2008
3 Landscapes in The Modern Style, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL, 2008
When Worlds Collide, Los Angeles, CA November, 2007
Team Hug,  Lump Gallery Raleigh, NC December 2007
The Discontented Pendulum, G2 Gallery, Chicago, IL June 2007
Explore your World,  ,Roots and Culture Gallery, Chicago Il November 2006
Hard Copy,   MORPHO Gallery, Chicago IL October, 2006
The Seismologists, Sara Nightengale Gallery, Water Mill, NY, October 2005
Fall  , G2 Gallery, Chicago, IL, August 2005
Representations,  Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL, June 2005
Thing I Said I’d Never Do Again, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL, May 2005
Graduate MFA Show, Art Institute of Chicago, G2 Gallery, Chicago, IL, April 2005
Drawn to Drawing, Betty Rymer Gallery, Chicago, IL, October 2004
Group Portraits Show, Highland Art Works Gallery, Portland, ME, February, 2003
2nd Annual Northern Liberties Local Artists  , Philadelphia, PA, Jan., 2003
Temple University Alumni Show, Philadelphia, PA, February, 2002
1st Annual Northern Liberties Local Artists  , Philadelphia, PA, March 2001


PUBLICATIONS

Bailliwik, 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th edition, an Artists’ Collective Book, Chicago, IL, 2005-2007

REVIEWS

New City Chicago, "Top 5 Gallery Shows in Chicago, 2007", for "Culture Mutt", January, 2007
New City Chicago, "Carl Baratta and Tsherin Sherpa", April 2007
Center Stage, "Must See Art Exhibits", Monday May 14, 2007
Time Out Chicago, "No Coast, No Sea" Issue 103: February 15–21, 2007
Peripheral Vision, Red Eye, “Thing I Said I’d Never Do Again” Issue 7.18.05, July 2005
The Where to Go What to Do Weekly, “Drawn to Drawing” Time Out Chicago. Issue 11, May 2005

 

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