Artist Statement: My design "Monarchs and Milkweed" focuses on the declining numbers of Monarchs in North America and what we can do to save them. Milkweed is the sole food source for monarch caterpillars and due to overdevelopment, fields of milkweed have been paved over. Milkweed is easy to plant, and we can reverse the trend by planting milkweed wherever we can to create welcoming landscapes for monarch butterflies to thrive. My design features all stages of a monarch's life from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis and finally to butterfly. Also prominently featured are milkweed plants which feed not only monarchs but are also a critical source for other pollinators. Let's save the monarchs, an important pollinator which travels thousands of miles each year across North America, bringing beauty and life to all of us.
As a native Brooklynite who never left, my journey through the world of art began when I first decorated my parents' bedroom set with colored chalk. There are a number of recurring themes in my work, all influenced by my Brooklyn childhood: Coney Island, Religion and Gardening. My paintings are saturated in color and texture, the colors do not always represent what occurs in nature, they have more of a fever dream vibrancy. My solo exhibit "Brooklyn Dreamland, Land Without Shadows" which focuses on 35 years of drawings and painting based on my experiences in Coney Island opened at the Arsenal Gallery in January of 2025.
