BIO

My earliest creative memory is drawing intricate cartoons in my elementary school notebooks. The designs were so colorful and unique that my classmates wanted me to do the same in theirs. Years later I would spray paint over citrus, onions, broccoli, etc. then use the same fruits to stamp acrylic paint on the outlines. I had no idea this would foreshadow the art style I ended up developing. But ultimately cooking grabbed my attention more than visual art.

Although I initially wanted to, I never attended culinary school. I worked in every kind of mediocre kitchen you can imagine and always left them feeling unfulfilled. For years I sought a higher level of execution and innovation in cooking. Eventually I ended up at the NoMad (after responding to a craigslist ad), which was Daniel Humm’s highly anticipated new restaurant that opened in 2012. We went on to earn three stars from the New York Times and a Michelin star.

This was the kitchen that provided both the skill set and mindset needed to open my own concept in New York and succeed against all the odds. But that story is for another time. It took five years surviving as a seasonal Brooklyn food tent (using only our apartment kitchen) until the opportunity to open a restaurant on the other side of the country presented itself.

Finally in 2020, under the stress of construction delays and cost overruns, my art style was born. We couldn’t afford art for the dining room. So I made it.

STATEMENT

This art excites me the way a new recipe idea does. I become obsessed with a potential flavor combination in the same way I do over potential texture in art. Just as I do with my food, I attempt to create bold, colorful, balanced, heavily textured pieces of art. Some are vivid and others mellow.

None of them reflect my current emotions. Instead, they reflect place and time. Certain ingredients are only available during specific seasons (sungold tomato stems or sea urchin shells, for example). Pigments dry at different rates based on outside temperature. I have no studio so all pieces are subjected to the elements and sometimes nature is an unexpected collaborator.

Each piece is one of one. And because I am not awarded the consistency found in traditional paints, to a certain degree I relinquish authorship. What I imagine a piece becoming in my mind rarely correlates with reality.

In addition to things like bones, vegetable trim, blood, wine, tea, spices and charcoal, I use other elements from the kitchen to create depth and complexity. Cheesecloth, ice, tape, sheet trays, and bowls are all common. As much as I’ve learned through persistent experimentation over the last four years, it feels like I’ve merely scratched the surface.

My career began with the pursuit of flavor. I have always been excited by the new, the unconventional, and the obscure. Now I’m in pursuit of something different: what happens when food is given the opportunity to express itself beyond what ends up on the plate.

MY WORK

The world of describing and selling art is relatively new to me. I believe my style most closely aligns with abstract. I prefer larger pieces because I feel they are more impactful. I generally do not produce pieces under 24” x 24”.

All pieces have been thoroughly dried, scraped of all excess materials, and finished with both varnish spray and acrylic sealer. After a few weeks they are essentially odorless, depending on the pigments used. Sometimes they are odorless immediately upon drying. And by odorless I mean when smelling them with nose to the canvas.

Over the years I have figured out which pigments stain permanently and which ones eventually fade. There are pieces from three years ago that still look the same while some have slightly transformed. I do offer the ability to swap out pieces if you feel such a transformation is undesirable. This has not happened yet but I want to offer it just in case.

ART FOR SALE

Most of my work is listed here but I have more pieces available for viewing by request. People visit my apartment often to browse what is available. It is always my pleasure to talk through the process and the stories associated with each work.

I am continually adding pieces to the shop and may offer prints soon as well. I am open to commissions for specific materials or sizes. Message me on instagram or email me to initiate that process.