Bio

Before I was born, my father served in the Army during the Korean War. While stationed overseas, he mailed cash to a U.S. Army Post Exchange in Japan and, in return, received a camera via military post. Years later, he passed that camera on to me. Aside from crayons and pencils, it was the first tool I remember using to make images—and the first time I became consciously aware of using a tool to create something visual.

Early stylistic influences

While studying studio art at Columbia University, I had the privilege of learning from a number of established New York artists whose perspectives deeply shaped how I think and see. Their influence extended beyond technique—they challenged me to develop a more personal, intentional relationship with image-making.

The most important of these mentors was André Racz, who taught drawing and became both a friend and a guide. He took a few of us under his wing, spending time with me outside the classroom to talk about art as a way of seeing. He invited me to his home and studio in Demarest, New Jersey, where we could speak freely and compare our evolving visions.

Racz believed that art and teaching were tools for self-discovery. His own work, developed through Atelier 17 and beyond, spanned surrealism, expressionism, and later, a calm, representational style that still held expressive power. From him, I learned the value of directness in arriving at an image—an approach that continues to shape my practice today.

André Racz: at MOMA and on Wikipedia

At Columbia, I had the privilege of learning from painter David Lund, a prominent figure in the New York School of abstract expressionism. He taught painting and took a keen interest in technique and composition, encouraging me to explore personal themes in my work. David unveiled the wonders of color and texture, concepts that have become integral to my own artistic practice.

David Lund: a web site about him, and on Wikipedia.

Robert Blackburn, who taught printmaking at Columbia, emphasized the discipline of process. He was particularly supportive and encouraging of my experimentation with monoprints. Monoprints, akin to drawing, allow for the creation of unique images while incorporating aspects of photography, enabling the production of multiple variations of a single idea. Printmaking demands a disciplined approach, but the result is a vibrant and distinctive image. In a similar vein, I utilize the digital processes of modern photography, blending the artist’s touch with technology to create prints.

Robert Blackburn: on the Smithsonian site, and on Wikipedia.

Here are more of the influential artists I encountered at Columbia.

Leon Goldin: a web site about him, and at MOMA.

Joan Snyder: a web site about her and on Wikipedia.

Bill Barrett: a web site about him and on Wikipedia.

Roland Ginzel: at The Annex Galleries and on a Wiki about him.

The photographer makes the image

This mixture of influences—from abstract expressionism and surrealism, the matured objective visions of the teachers I encountered at Columbia, and the art of the 70s and 80s—forms the primordial creative soup from which I emerge. Although tools are secondary to vision, I continually return to the camera as my primary tool and medium of choice, especially now that digital imaging offers a vast array of possibilities for creating images.

My images are not accidents; the camera does not reveal things that do not exist but can uncover the elements we often overlook when viewing them directly. As a tool, it reveals street reflections in a window or an urban landscape mirrored in the glass of a building. The images produced by a photograph embody idealism and romanticism, form and color, and profundity all intertwined. Visual patterns, textures, and colors play together, along with the ironies of representational forms. Simultaneously, I am immersed in and part of this process, making the outcome of my work indistinguishable from who I am.

I control all creative aspects of my work, from the initial exposure to the final printed piece. My work is rendered as giclée prints from high-resolution files using acid-free papers.