Existential Man
2012 - 2013
In 2012 I began a process of dismantling the visual language I was known for. The Norman Rockwell-like Americana was jettisoned for the modernism of artists like Willem de Kooning and Alberto Giacometti. My Existential Man was the first series to emerge from this change. These spare, bleakly comical paintings are both a nod to 20th century Existentialism, and speak to the personal experience of being just another cog in the machine. When I first came to New York I spent two years designing business forms at Merrill Lynch, becoming all too familiar with the daily subway slog to the world of beige cubicles and Post-it Notes. Even in the art world there is no escape from our mortal grind, but I do feel the existential man earns heroic status for just showing up – even if he can’t find his missing eye.
