Artist Statement

Portraiture is an act of protracted observation; if we’re being honest, it’s really an elaborate excuse to stare. We’re all taught that staring is impolite, but there can be some generosity in the act, as well. For the sitter, a portrait can be a chance to feel seen, to collaborate with an artist, or simply to be committed to history on paper or canvas. For the artist, slowing down and truly observing a person can become an exercise in empathy, in finding understanding in even the most ambiguous expression. And for the viewer, portraits offer the chance to hold a stranger in deep regard, perhaps to see themselves in someone else, to wonder about that person’s thoughts or feelings, or to eavesdrop on the relationship between the artist and their subject.

In my studio, that relationship begins with photography, working with the sitters — sometimes professional models, sometimes friends and fellow artists — to capture compelling moments, expressions, and poses in the studio. I’m interested in something real and unrehearsed: a moment of disgust or boredom or calm, a person meeting my gaze and looking right back.

I then manually transfer those photos onto my surface, creating large scale, sometimes life-size or larger drawings and mixed media paintings, extending the fraction of a second caught by the camera into dozens of hours of close scrutiny and interpretation. A sort of lopsided friendship can develop, in which I end up spending much more time with the subject than they ever did with me.

Some sections of my pictures are laboriously rendered bits of colored pencil photorealism—a very meditative process—while others are more abstracted. In some works, I build space with flat blocks of color and simplified elements of still life; in others, areas of the body are scribbled or painted quickly and freely, forcing me to stay more present. The works incorporate depth and flatness, beauty and ugliness, unembellished realism and ultra-saturated abstraction.

Combining these ways of seeing into energetically dynamic pictures is an attempt to visualize the beauty and complexity of everyday people. When two people touch, at a molecular level it becomes impossible to tell where one person ends and another begins. The same can be true with pictures — from sitter to artist, and hopefully, from artist to viewer.

Upcoming Shows

Exhibition History

Solo & Two-Person Exhibitions

PEOPLE WATCHING (Upcoming), MSP Airport, Minneapolis, MN. 2027-28

SOMEBODIES, Memorial Union Main Gallery, UW-Madison, WI. 2025-26

SITTERS, Gallery 120, Inver Hills Community College, Inver Grove Heights, MN. 2025

SOMEBODIES, The Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, WI. February 2024

HARDER NOT SMARDER, Joyce, Minneapolis, MN. April 2023

ALL SMILES, A. Hurd Gallery, Albuquerque, NM. August 2022

FACE VALUE, MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN. 2022

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, The 410 Project, Mankato, MN. 2021

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, Ridgewater College, Hutchinson & Willmar, MN. 2021

NOT FOR NOTHING, Rubine Red Gallery, Palm Springs, CA. Two-person show with Syed Hosain. 2020

YOU AND ME AND THEM AND US, Lillian Davis Hogan Gallery, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona, MN. 2020

BENT OUT OF SHAPE, Gallery 13 @ Aloft Hotel, Minneapolis, MN. 2019

ANOTHER FINE MESS, Squirrel Haus Arts, Minneapolis, MN. 2019

LOCAL CURRENCIES, Coffman Art Gallery, University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN. 2018

LOOSE CHANGE, Hopkins Center for the Arts. Hopkins, MN.  2018

SITUATION NORMAL, Truckstop Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.  2017

MACRO MACHINES, Gamut Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.  2016

SMALL ARMS, Werkspace, Chicago, IL.  2013

PEEPERS, Humboldt House, Chicago, IL.  2013

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS, Gallerybar, Chicago, IL.  Two-person show with Satoki Nagata.  2013

NEW DRAWINGS, Brainforest, Chicago, IL. Two-person show with Damien James.  2012

COMPELLING REASONS FOR THE END OF SPEECH, Vespine Gallery, Chicago, IL.  2007

TAXI DANCERS OF THE REVOLUTION, Thesis Exhibit, Davidson College, Davidson, NC. 2004

Select Group Exhibitions

TOO MANY SKULLS (Upcoming), Brassworks Gallery, Portland, OR. 2026

ARTIST POP-UP, Wildmother Goods, Zumbrota, MN. 2026

THE BRIGHT SIDE, ABV Gallery, Atlanta, GA. 2025

FRESH FACE, Rubine Red Gallery, Palm Springs, CA. 2025

PEOPLE & PLACES, Bridgewater Lofts, Minneapolis, MN. 2025

SAFEWORD, Otherworldly Arts Collective, Minneapolis, MN. 2024

WIDE OPEN, North Suburban Center for the Arts, Fridley, MN. 2023

WORKS BY FACULTY AND STAFF, Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. 2023

S2:E4 THE ONE WITH ALL THE SQUARES, El Paso Frame Co, El Paso, TX. 2022

QUEST FOR ZENITH (online), WOW x WOW, London. 2022

ALL MALE REVUE, Rubine Red Gallery, Palm Springs, CA. 2021

WHAT’S IN A FACE, A. Hurd Gallery, Albuquerque, NM. 2021

C4W 2020: LUSH FUTURE, Gamut Gallery, Minneapolis, MN. Juror: Katie Garrett. 2020

PROJECT BIKE RETROSPECTIVE, MSP Airport, Minneapolis, MN. 2020

THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING, Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Curator: Howard Oransky. 2020

PORTRAY, The Anderson Center at Tower View, Red Wing, MN. 2020

C4W 2019, Gamut Gallery, Minneapolis, MN. Juror: Teqen Zéa-Aida. 2019

PROJECT BIKE 2019, The 410 Project, Mankato, MN. Curator: Dana Sikkila. 2019

THE EXQUISITE CORPSE SHOW, Red Garage Studios, Minneapolis, MN. 2019

HOMECOMING: ART BY ALUMNI, Van Every/Smith Galleries, Davidson College, Davidson, NC. 2019

NEMAA Wintertide Biennial, Public Functionary, Minneapolis, MN. Juror: John Schuerman. 2019

OH+OG, Counselor Realty, Minneapolis, MN. Curator: Joel Bartlett. 2018

GET LUCKY, SooVAC, Minneapolis, MN. 2018

DOCK 6 DESIGN & ART 10, Dock 6 Collective, Chicago, IL. Curator: Edra Soto.  2017

C4W 2017, Gamut Gallery, Minneapolis, MN. Juror: Joel Coleman, Made Here Arts Advisor.  2017

STATE FAIR FINE ARTS SHOW, Minnesota State Fair.  2017

AUTUMNE, The Solar Arts Building, Minneapolis, MN. Named SECOND PLACE WINNER. Judges: Carolyn Payne, SooVAC; Nicole Soukup, Mia; Becky Franklin, Metropolitan Regional Council. 2017

NUDE, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH.  2016

NEMAA FALL FINE ART SHOW, The Solar Arts Building, Minneapolis, MN.  Named SECOND PLACE WINNER. Judges: John

    Schuerman, Instinct Gallery; Susannah Magers, Rochester Art Center; Sarah Balk McGrill, McGrill Art Associates. 2016

OPEN DOOR 11, Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis, MN. Juror: Mia Lopez,  Curatorial Fellow at Walker Art Center.  2015

BEYOND BRAND, Form + Content Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.  2015

STATE FAIR FINE ARTS SHOW, Minnesota State Fair.  2015

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL DIY, Galerie F, Chicago, IL.  2015

2014 ROCKFORD MIDWESTERN BIENNIAL, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL.  Juror:  William Lieberman, Owner and Director of Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago.

51ST  ANNUAL JURIED COMPETITION, Masur Museum, Monroe, LA.  Juror: Kelly Shindler,  Associate Curator at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. 2014

C4W 2014, Gamut Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.  Juror: Kristoffer Knutson. 2014

TOY STORIES, Galerie F, Chicago, IL.  2014

CONCEALED CARRY, Experimental Station, Chicago, IL.  2014

DOCK 6 DESIGN & ART, Dock 6 Collective, Chicago, IL.  2013

NEXT FAIR, Jettison Quarterly Booth, Chicago, IL. Part of Art Chicago.  2010

SCULPTURE, Jennifer Norback Fine Art, Chicago, IL.  2010

HANDS ON, Happy Dog Gallery, Chicago, IL. Presented by Deadline Projects.  2009

CURATOR’S CHOICE, Around the Coyote Gallery, Chicago, IL. Juror: Tricia Van Eck, Curatorial Coordinator, MCA.  2006

CRITICAL MASS, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA. Juror: Peter Schjeldahl, Art Critic, The New Yorker.  2004

Awards & Projects

2022 Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Individuals Grant

2020 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant

2018 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant

Semi-finalist, 2023 McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship

Semi-finalist, 2019 MCAD-Jerome Fellowship

Semi-finalist, 2017 McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship

Juror of Drawing/Pastel Category, Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition, 2023

Juror of Open Door XVI group exhibition, Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, 2020

Juror for Annual Juried Exhibition, The 410 Project, Mankato, MN, 2020

Mural commission for Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Davidson College, Davidson, NC. 2019-2020

Public Art Commission: The ARTERY on 8th Avenue, Hopkins, MN. Designed six laser-cut aluminum panels telling the history of Hopkins through vehicles. 2017-2018

Maple Grove Art Center Award, Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition, 2024

Second Place, Drawing/Pastels - Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition, 2022

Second Place - NEMAA AutumNE Member Show, 2017. Jurors: Carolyn Payne, Becky Franklin, & Nicole Soukup

Second Place - NEMAA Fall Fine Art Show, 2016. Jurors: Susannah Magers, Sarah Balk McGrill, & John Schuerman

STUDIO:HERE, MN State Fair Fine Arts Building, St. Paul, MN. One-day residency of live drawing.  2016

Press

10 Local Twin Cities Artists We’re Loving Right Now: Artful Living

UMN Dept of Art - Work by Faculty & Staff: MPR News

Face Value: Radio interview on KAXE Morning Show

Face Value: Grand Rapids Herald Review

Another Fine Mess: KUMD Duluth

Homecoming: The Davidsonian

Local Currencies: Star Tribune

Loose Change: City Pages • Southwest Journal

Art-A-Whirl 2017: "Five Places To Actually Find Fine Art At Art-A-Whirl," Star Tribune

Situation Normal: The Journal

This Lawn Is My Lawn: Star Tribune

Art-A-Whirl 2016: City Pages

Macro Machines:  Star Tribune •  City Pages  •  Southwest Journal

Beyond Brand: Star Tribune  •  Star Tribune

Hallways: City Pages 

Visiting Artist Lectures

Weisman Art Museum Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards • University of Minnesota • Young Leaders of the Americas Institute / Global Minnesota • Ridgewater College • Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota • Anoka-Ramsey Community College • St. Cloud State • MCAD Portfolio Prep: Drawing for High School Students • Davidson College • California State University - Monterey Bay

Moderator

Piotr Szyhalski/Labor Camp book release, Weisman Art Museum • McKnight Fellowship Discussion Series: Alison Hiltner & Mohamud Mumin • McKnight Fellowship Discussion Series: Shanai Matteson & Sean Connaughty • Artists on the Verge 9 panel discussion, Rochester Art Center • Morgan Pease solo exhibition artist talk, Gamut Gallery • Suyao Tian solo exhibition artist talk, Gamut Gallery