Rapper’s Dee-Lite Print

I am a multimedia artist, specializing in painting Conceptual Pop Art, as seen during ART BASEL MIAMI at SCOPE and SELECT FAIR, SEE | ME Exhibitions at THE LOUVRE and ARMORY ARTS WEEK NYC, GASPARILLA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS, TAMPA and featured on FOX13-TV GOOD MORNING TAMPA BAY. As a Pratt graduate, SVA student and former advertising Creative Director, I have spent my career honing my visual and communication skills. Always in pursuit of “The Big Idea”, I have learned how to put concept first, and manipulate imagery to surprise, provoke and reward the viewer. Whether the medium is painting, photography, design, music, spoken word or video, I reach for everything in the toolbox that can help achieve that goal — sometimes all of the above. Today, my approach as an artist is to draw on the power of mass media and pop culture, while repurposing its icons, imagery and techniques to deliver a more personal artistic statement. Through the use of meaningful juxtaposition and social commentary, my work is an exploration of the irony, contradiction, parallels and harmony to be found in 21st-century life. ARTIST STATEMENT Look deeper. In a world where we are bombarded every day by images through mass media, what makes any single image resonate with the viewer? What makes it meaningful? What makes it memorable? The art that has always appealed to me has never been just a pretty picture. It's had some extra intangible quality that gave me pause to reflect. Some unique perspective, sense of mystery, an ironic twist or surprising technique that required me to stop, pay close attention, and actually think. This kind of eye-opening art can be especially meaningful today, when it's becoming increasingly difficult to take anything at face value. We are living in a land of artifice. Spin is the order of the day, as we find ourselves surrounded by a circus of Hollywood celebrities, marketers, politicians, pop stars and special-interest groups"”all out to convince us that their story is the one to believe. But when we pull back the curtain, we often find that what we see, is not nearly what we get. At its core, my work is an attempt at a wake-up-call, by exposing things that may otherwise be hidden from view. Each piece is intended to catch you, the viewer off-guard, invite you in for further exploration of its elements, and challenge you to make connections, find meaning, and ultimately see differently some aspect of the world in which we live.