Artist Statement  2022

When asked what type of art I make, I consider myself a mixed media artist. My early art background was in abstract painting. When I went to college, I thought I would be a painter. But after the mandatory foundation year at The Philadelphia College of Art, I changed my major to Film and graduated with a BFA. My professional career path was also in Film. From 1985-to 2006, I ran my own company making TV commercials, music videos, and other branded content. I dreamed of someday getting out and being an artist again. In 2006, I decided to leave the advertising and production community to focus entirely on my art. Since 2001 I have been making digital art, short videos, and NFTs.

Art is about challenging the status quo, experimenting, and applying them in new ways. As Milton Avery said, "To paint, one must go by the way one does not know. Art is like turning corners; one never knows what's around the corner until one has made the turn." I enjoy working with a camera and combining images in a collage or painting. 

Other times I shoot in black & white because it defines the space into the positive and negative and for its graphic qualities. I was fortunate to have studied photography under the late great photographer Ray K Metzker while majoring in Film at The Philadephia College of Art (1971-1975). Metzker is known for his experimental B&W cityscapes, large composites, and assemblages of printed film strips. His style taught me never to compromise for an inferior image and push my art's boundaries.

Ironically, I started my art career with cut-and-paste collages when I was fourteen. Robert Rauchenberg was the most significant influence in my life. I used his technique for lifting images with solvent and a press. Today collage is still my medium of choice, using my own photographs. 

My signature piece, Metropolis (2002), consists of over eighty layers of images, textures, and hand-painted media. It is still my most substantial work and represents what makes me a unique artist. When I created Metropolis in 2001-2002, only a handful of artists did digital work. As an artist, I continue to venture and experiment, fulfilling the dream I had as a boy.