BIO
I'm a multi-disciplinary artist and community/culture organizer based in Denver. I hold both a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from UC Santa Barbara.
My work spans across different mediums, including digital video, painting, collage, performance, and installation. I have screened my short experimental videos in various exhibitions and film festivals worldwide and was featured in issue #111 of New American Paintings.
I'm the co-founder of two community/culture projects: The New Genres Collective, a new-media student-oriented project, and Junk Drawer, a quarterly queer + house + techno + art party in Denver. I have also served as a Board member and Artist Committee Chair at PlatteForum.
ABOUT
My work spans across various media but my recent work has primarily focused on video.
I have been fascinated by the complex relationship between the body and architecture throughout my art practice. My work often involves questioning the physicality of materials and exploring how our bodies interact with the spaces around us. I am always looking at how spaces affect us and we affect them.
One of my ongoing text-based projects explores the relationship between language and visual art. During my graduate school years at UC Santa Barbara, I became highly critical of the limitations of language when it comes to art. I began to explore how words and visual elements can coexist and complement each other.
Recently, my work has become more introspective, exploring themes of shame, trauma, and wellness. I am currently developing a series of short experimental videos titled ATTEMPTS TO HEAL: MY BODY(of)WORK. These DIY wellness videos explore how the architecture of the body affects our emotional and physical wellness.
My art practice is a constant exploration of the interplay between different elements, whether it's the body and architecture, language and visuality, or the connection between our inner and outer selves.
EDUCATION
2015 University of California, Santa Barbara, MFA
2002 San Francisco Art Institute, BFA
EXHIBITION HISTORY
Solo & Two Person Shows
2018 The Blushing Bow, Leon Gallery, Denver, CO
2016 Abowt?! , Barn Gallery, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2015 MFA Thesis, UCSB ADA Museum, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
2015 Logical Elsewhere, Napa Gallery, CSU Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA
2014 MirrorSkin, 1328 Gallery, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2012 Raze / Raise, Emmanuel Gallery, Denver, CO
2012 Celestial Terrestrial, Hinterland, Denver, CO
2010 Common Men in an Uncommon Era, Denver Courthouse, Denver, CO
2010 Fortune Revised, Nalanda Gallery, Naropa University, Boulder, CO
2010 Systemic, RedLine, Denver, CO
2006 Hot Air, Cool Suit, House of Hengst, San Francisco, CA
2006 Paper Portraits, Harvey's, San Francisco, CA
2005 Splitting Headaches, Bridge Theatre, San Francisco, CA
2002 The Toll, Gallery X, San Francisco, CA
Group Shows
2023 Breakthroughs, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, CO
2023 Faculty + Staff Biennial Exhibition, RMCAD, Denver, CO
2022 XPRMNTL Film Anti-Festival, London, UK
2021 Scream It Off Screen Film Fest, Minneapolis, MN
2021 Word Play, Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO
2020 Cribs, Lobo Gallery, New York, NY
2020 Fringe Film Fest, London, UK
2020 COVID-19 Artist Awards, Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum, Denver, CO
2020 Great Expectations, GOCA at UCCS, Colorado Springs, CO
2019 UNTITLED Curated by Tobias Fike Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
2018 Fringe Film Fest, London, UK
2018 SURFACE, David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, CO
2018 UNTITLED Curated by Jordan Knecht, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
2018 Domocile, Currents New Media Festival, Santa Fe, NM
2018 Lorem, Counterpath, Denver, CO
2018 Combined Effort, Sea Farm City, Los Angeles, CA
2018 10X Residency Retrospective Exhibition, Redline, Denver, CO
2017 For Lease: Pop-Up Exhibition, Denver, CO
2017 Lucid, Mary Harris Auditorium, RMCAD, Denver, CO
2017 Turning the Lights On, Detached Garage Residency, Denver, CO
2017 48 Hours of Socially Engaged Art, Redline, Denver, CO
2017 Azores Fringe Film Festival, Azores Islands, Portugal
2017 Faculty Show, RMCAD, Denver, CO
2016 Fringe Film Fest, London, UK
2015 MIX NYC, NY Queer Experimental Film Festival, New York, NY
2015 Love is Love, Emmanuel Gallery, Denver, CO
2015 UCFZ, Gone Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2014 In, On / Into, Onto, Project Space, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
2014 So Not Solo, Gallery 1328, Santa Barbara, CA
2014 DCD, Groundswell Gallery, Denver, CO
2014 DCD, Neurotitan Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2013 UCSB MFA Open House, Gallery 1328, Santa Barbara, CA
2012 Dynamo, Boulder Musuem of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO
2012 Bespoke, Denver Art Museum / Design Council, Denver, CO
2011 1:1, Ice Cube Gallery, Denver, CO
2010 Love Lines, RedLine, Denver, CO
2010 RedLine at the Republic Plaza, Republic Plaza Building, Denver, CO
2010 RedLine at District 475, District 475, Centennial, CO
2010 Braided Apart, RedLine, Denver, CO
2009 You of All People! Here of All Places!, RedLine, Denver, CO
2010 Extinction: Artists Respond, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, CO
2008 Marvel of Specialization, Lure, Denver, CO
2008 Spatial Investigations, RedLine, Denver, CO
INSTRUCTION
METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY - Foundations Department
2020 Instructor, 4D Design, Spring Semester
2019 Instructor, 4D Design, Fall semester
2018 Instructor, 4D Design, Spring + Fall semesters
2018 Instructor, 2D Design, Spring + Fall semesters
2017 Instructor, 2D Design, Fall semester
2017 Instructor, 2D Design, Spring semester
RMCAD - Foundations/Fine Arts & Graphic Design Departments
2018 Instructor, 4D Design, Summer Term A (online)
2017 Instructor, New Genres Collective, Fall
2017 Instructor, 2D Design, Fall Term C
2017 Instructor, Methods of Inquiry: Interdisciplinary Seminar, Fall Term A
2017 Instructor, Vector Graphics / Illustrator, Fall Term A
2017 Instructor, 2D Design, Spring Term C
2017 Instructor, Raster Processing / Photoshop, Spring Term C
2017 Instructor, Infographic & Data Visualization, Spring Term A
2016 Instructor, Web Design 1, Fall Term C
2016 Instructor, Methods of Inquiry: Interdisciplinary Seminar, Fall Term C
2016 Instructor, Methods of Inquiry: Interdisciplinary Seminar, Fall Term A
UC SANTA BARBARA - Department of Art
2015 Instructor, IV Mural Project, Fall Quarter
2015 Instructor, TA Training Course for Graduate TAs, Fall Quarter
2015 Teaching Assistant, Art & Life, Kip Fulbeck, Spring Quarter
2015 Teaching Assistant, Intro to Printmaking, Cathy Ellis, Winter Quarter
2014 Teaching Assistant, Intro to Painting, Stephanie Washburn, Fall Quarter
2014 Teaching Assistant, Visual Literacy, Helen Taschian, Summer Quarter
2014 Teaching Assistant, Visual Literacy, Yumi Kimomoto , Summer Quarter
2013 Teaching Assistant, Intro to Drawing, Eric Beltz, Summer Quarter
2014 Teaching Assistant, Visual Literacy, Helen Taschian, Spring Quarter
2014 Teaching Assistant, Art, Science & Tech, Lisa Jevbratt, Winter Quarter
2013 Teaching Assistant, Digital Strategies, Graham Budgett, FallQuarter
AWARDS
2020 COVID-19 Artist Relief Award, Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum
2015 Nominee - The Dedalus Foundation Master of Fine Arts Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture
2014-2015 UCSB Israel Levitan Fellowship
2013 UCSB Graduate Opportunity Fellowship
2013 GLBA Scholarship
2010 Scion Xchange Featured Artist
2003 Outward Bound Art Merit Scholarship
RESIDENCIES
2015-2016 University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
2015 The Wayfaring Band, Special Olympics, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Redline, Denver, CO
2002 Sanitary Fill Student Residency Award, San Francisco, CA
PUBLIC, GALLERY AND UNIVERSITY LECTURES
2020 University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, CO
2015 University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2014 University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2014 California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA
2012 Emmanuel Gallery, University of Colorado, Denver, CO
BOARDS, COMMITTEES & COMMUNITY INVOLVMENT
2017 Co-Founder, The New Genres Collective, Denver, CO
2011-2013 Artist Committee Chair, PlatteForum, Denver, CO
2007-2010 Board Member, PlatteForum, Denver, CO
RECENT INTERVIEW + WRITING
Watch this interview / digital studio visit with me and curator, Daisy McGowan.
I wrote this a few years ago for Ray Rinaldi's old art blog, One Good Eye, and I think it succinctly describes how I work.
COMMUNITY / CULTURE PROJECTS
- THE NEW GENRES COLLECTIVE - Co-Founded alongside Tobias Fike. New Genres Collective is a new media RMCAD student-oriented art collaboration.
- JUNK DRAWER EVENTS - Co-Founded alongside Justin Najjar-Keith and Aleks Rodriguez. Junk Drawer is a bi-monthly art + techno + queer party in Denver.
PRESS, PUBLICATIONS & WRITING
Southwest Contemporary on Junk Drawer
Southwest Contemporary on MCA Denver Exhibition
New American Paintings MFA issue #111
UCSB 2015 MFA Thesis Exhibition Catalogue