My product focuses on the message, not the mess.

I grew up in Montreal where graffiti

and the urban environment inspired me to work with a brash, colorful aesthetic that
energized my efforts. I believe that public visual space should be an open discussion on
how to improve our social situation. While I appreciate the roots of the graffiti art form
and the confidence it instills, I dont believe one should write on a wall unless they have
something to say.
My work was mainly two-dimensional until college where the sculptural facilities opened
my eyes to what was possible with art. As my interest in working three-dimensionally has
grown I have combined my passion for art with my passion for snowboarding through the
venue of freestyle terrain parks. My sculptural work has focused on installing highly
urban objects in the natural environments of Massachusetts Public Parks, the New
Zealand Alpine, and Colorado National Forests. The energy of an urban aesthetic within
the unique environment of a ski resort, both natural and urbanized, fits with the direction
I have been heading with my two-dimensional work. By drawing attention to the
urbanization of the space with steel and wood terrain park features I sought to capture
the creative energy of freestyle snowboarding along with commenting on the venue.
Much of my work has a dark, environmental humor greatly influenced by the author
Edward Abbey. I use highly processed materials to represent the natural and use natural
materials to represent the urban. This ironic use of material helps me to maintain the
dark humor and energy of my two-dimensional work while developing a well honed
elegance in aesthetic.
Cartoon violence makes me smile. Even though the subject matter may be dark, the
color and energy of the image makes the work positive. Two-dimensionally I find a
brash, primary-heavy pallet to be the most powerful. Using multiple layers of spray-paint,
acrylic, oil pastel, and marker I build the surface to a highly graphic aesthetic firmly
rooted in the immediacy of street art. I borrow from comics and cartoons to create a
narrative based on anthropomorphous trees that have risen to aggress against mankind.
The combination of this narrative and my materials gives me the freedom to work more
playfully.
My work with found objects is highly informed by the character of the object. I enjoy the
presence of the items history as a link to the environment on which the piece comments.
The object springs to life out of context. I take inspiration from the Murs Vegetaux
(Vegetated Walls) of Patrick Blanc which create an interaction between the plant matter,
and the wall on which it is installed, changing how we perceive both.
I love the dangerous, laborious, and masculine process of sculpting metal; fire, noise,
explosion, sweat, strain. Incorporating elements of the trade; commercial blacksmithing
and structural welding have developed my respect for the material. Raw metal finishing
has taken precedence over the industrial aesthetic of paint.
When it comes down to it, art should be fun. Its energy should put the smirk of an inside
joke on the viewers face and the seed of a thought inside their head. This positive
motivation is what I look to cultivate.