Artist Statement:

Working primarily in oil on canvas, my practice explores the embodied experience of womanhood through psychologically charged figurative painting. I often use theatrically staged self-portraits to examine identity, agency, and the complexity of being seen. By repeatedly using myself as the subject, I aim to blur the boundaries between artist and subject, pushing toward a space where the viewer may begin to see their own reflection in my form. While deeply personal, the work is ultimately rooted in universality, using self-image to reflect a broader experience of navigating the world in a female body.

In 2025, my practice shifted outward with the beginning of a new series titled Call Time. Inspired by my musician partner and the Bay Area music community surrounding him, I became fascinated by the emotionally charged moments just before a performance. Call time is filled with ritual and repetition: tuning instruments, troubleshooting gear, and gradually transforming from non-performer to performer. I began attending local shows with my camera in hand, documenting these raw, transitional moments and later translating them into large-scale oil paintings. The subjects, friends, acquaintances, and performers within the local music scene, are rendered with the same psychological intensity I once reserved for self-portraiture, revealing the vulnerability beneath performance and persona.

In 2026, I debuted Self-Surveillance, my first solo exhibition and a return to self-portraiture through a more introspective lens. Across ten paintings, the series explores self-critique, self-observation, and the experience of becoming both watcher and watched. Set primarily within domestic interiors, the work reflects on personal patterns of behavior and thought, offering a candid meditation on the act of “seeing oneself seeing oneself.” Rejecting romanticized traditions of portraiture, Self-Surveillance favors psychological honesty over idealization, inviting viewers into a space that is vulnerable, analytical, and uncomfortably familiar.