Despite the fact that I have been a freelance writer for roughly 30 years I find it challenging to talk about the photographs and collages I make. My artist self and wordsmith self apparently reside in very separate cubicles in my brain.
My pictures are, first and foremost, about the formal elements of composition, color and texture I’ve studied through years of haunting museums, art galleries and artists’ studios as an art dealer, arts writer and collector. When I look at finished work—mine or anyone else’s—I want to be dazzled by the organization of visual elements and also challenged to establish a personal relationship with the image. Art that I love engages me in a private conversation, tells me its story and encourages me to reflect on my own. It has the power to change the way I perceive the world.
Regarding my own work, each unique cut-and-paste collage I make combines photographic images (most often New York Times newspaper clippings) which are then blanketed under a veil of encaustic (wax). The wax visually integrates the diverse elements of the collage while creating a seductive physical surface. I strive to make each one painterly in appearance, luring viewers with their beauty before confronting them with intimate and sometimes painful detail. These are the stories of strangers made personal through my retelling. I want the viewer to find his or her own place in the narrative.