Artist's Statement
Mythology provides a lens through which to explore seemingly inexplicable cultural elements as contemporary extensions of timeless truths. These metaphorical characters and their stories, passed down for centuries, ground my emotional experience of our present America, where the unprecedented is the new norm. My oil paintings blend the styles of multiple artistic movements, namely High Renaissance and Surrealism, to connect the dream-like distortion and fragmentation of modernity to a former, more recognizable experience. In a contemporary society in which the experience of the unique is often othered and silenced, my vision intends to voice cultural anxiety and extract meaning from this disorienting and surreal reality, offering a kind of solace in our current post-truth mythos.
Artist's Bio
I was born and raised in Coppell, TX, a quiet suburb in the Dallas-Fort Wort area that allowed me the contemplative space to grow up in the pages of sketchbooks. From a young age, inspired by my maternal grandmother and my older brother, I constantly investigated the characters composing the world around me by pushing pencil to paper. With this evolving passion and an early interest in portraiture, I honed technical skills by taking drawing and painting classes throughout my secondary education at Coppell Middle School North and St. Mark’s School of Texas under the mentorship of Mrs. Max Wood. While attending college at the University of Chicago, where the more conceptual, philosophical, and cultural aspects of my artistic vision began to develop, I pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences and a Minor in Visual Arts, for which I took wide-ranging courses that included 20th Century Art, The Art of Leonardo Da Vinci, and Advanced Painting. After graduating in 2019, I took a year off of school to work as an AmeriCorps member for City Year Dallas, a formative experience during a highly tumultuous time in American history that deeply colored much of my most recent artworks. As I now enter McGovern Medical School as a student, I am interested in showcasing my work in physical and online exhibitions and continuing through my artistic endeavors to both reflect and challenge our current surreal socio-political climate.
Awards
2012 – Excellence in Drawing and Painting: St. Mark’s School of Texas
2013 – Excellence in Drawing and Painting: St. Mark’s School of Texas
2014 – 2nd Place Award: Texas’s 24th District Congressional Art Competition for Portrait of Mother Teresa
2014 – Excellence in Drawing and Painting: St. Mark’s School of Texas
2015 – Excellence in Drawing and Painting: St. Mark’s School of Texas
2020 – 2nd Place Award: Texas Visual Arts Association – Modern Interpretation of the Art Masters for Triumph of Love and Soul
2020 – 2nd Place Award: Texas Visual Arts Association – Works on Paper for Vulnerability
2020 – Honorable Mention: Texas Visual Arts Association – Works on Paper for Selfie
Selected Exhibitions
2014 – Group Exhibition, Texas’s 24th District Congressional Art Competition, Dallas, TX
2020 – Group Online Exhibition, Modern Interpretation of the Art Masters, Texas Visual Arts Association, Dallas, TX
2020 – Group Online Exhibition, Works on Paper, Texas Visual Arts Association, Dallas,
