Statement

Artist Statement

I believe in using creative works to inspire people to better themselves by exploring new insights, moving into life-long learning, and realizing their full potential. My artworks align with metamodernism as defined by Vermeulen and Van den Akker in their 2010 article “Notes on Metamodernism.” I create stretched canvas artworks with metamodernist themes such as man’s search for meaning in grand narratives (metanarratives), new mythologies and the oscillation between opposites. I am focused on the impact on human society and the human psyche of the technologies and systems of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I am not a Neo-Luddite, but I express a cautionary note in my artworks regards the advances into greater automation, nanotechnology, robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data analytics, genetic engineering, quantum supercomputing and the commercialization of space. I believe that my artworks, which have focused on these impacts, are aligned with aspects of the metamodernist discourse. My works often portray the tension and oscillation between opposites.

In my artworks, I utilize a concept very much in tune with metamodernist discourse, that is meta-Art. Meta-Art may be thought of as being like metadata: metadata is data about data; meta-Art is art about art. Of course, I am concerned with further developing my use of formal artistic skills and techniques as well as exploring the new frontier of collaborating with online Artificial Intelligence algorithms. I am applying a looser, more painterly style in my acrylic and oil paintings, and discovering directions which will take me into a more informed approach to my current coherent body of work. I am currently researching artists who could be described as figurative/abstract painters and who follow a metamodernist paradigm: metamodernist artists such as Kaye Donachie, Charles Avery, and David Thorpe. The styles and sensibilities of these artists appeal to me and provide verve for my creative deliberations.