Many people think of mathematics and fine art as being polar opposites: formulaic calculation verses creative intuition. When a friend recently asked me a question about art, I think I created more confusion than clarity when I replied that, ultimately, it was about math: wave lengths of light, Fibonacci number sequences, ratios, etc… Art can be understood by its mathematical properties. Fortunately for those of us who do not think in numbers, appreciation does not require understanding.

Life is complex. In an effort to respond to its infinite complexities, many people formulate simplicity by analyzing it in base-2 terms: good/bad, yes/no, male/female, us/them, yin/yang…

My recent work, though complex upon completion, is actually derived from the exploration of a multitude of base-2 relationships: warm/cool, order/chaos, shape/line, reading/looking, formal/narrative, illusionistic space/acknowledgement of surface… As the work develops these concepts merge, overlap, compete, and synthesize into a dynamic visual amalgamation that presents as complexity, but is essentially the result of simple, direct dialogue between prescribed elements. The most challenging aspect of this process for me, the artist, is to manage these conversations and be willing to sacrifice early developments of the composition in favor of newer strata of alteration as the painting progresses. Loss and discovery yield completion.