I spent much of the past few years painting and photographing my changing city. This short film features a selection of my work, complemented by classical music. Five of Modest Mussorgsky’s pieces from his composition Pictures at an Exhibition are selected, each of which represents the feel of a certain part of Newark. VIEW PROJECT >
From left to right: clock tower at Newark Broad Street Station, backyard of my childhood home, imaginary factory scene at night
Growing up in struggling, inner city Newark, the gritty urban environment inspired me. Newark’s abandoned factories and rust belt industries are fuel for my imagination and inspiration for me to reflect on the passage of time through my art.
A visual essay of artwork and photos from my experience of walking in the South Bronx.
Strolling in the Bronx, I am arrested by the inner-city grid that stretches mile after mile. Block after block, street after street, a never ending treadmill of bodegas, tenements, hair salons, C-TOWN supermarkets, strip malls, and laundries. In the treadmill of the city grid, I become an explorer lost wandering. I retrace my footsteps. VIEW PROJECT >
A visual essay featuring some of my watercolors, pastel images, and ink line drawings of the New Jersey Meadowlands. These images – both real and imagined – were inspired by industrial scenes I saw outside the train window when commuting between home in Newark and school in Hoboken, NJ. VIEW PROJECT >
In the New York City of my imagination, dinosaurs emerge from the Museum of Natural History to prowl “the city that never sleeps.” They roam the streets engaging in dinosaur-like activities: scaring people, stealing from butcher shops, and terrorizing the skyline. For one night, the city belongs to them.
The following images are political style cartoons about nationalism, fascism, and communism. They are drawn in the pedantic and high-contrast style of propaganda images from the Soviet Union. The rigid use of geometry and symmetry represents the oppression these regimes stand for. VIEW PROJECT >
These drawings are my imaginary reflection on water, ships, and the machinery related to water. The stylized smoke, waves, and night sky are inspired by Japanese woodcuts and Art Deco architecture.
A selection of some of my drawings, paintings, and pastel work about the architecture of Manhattan VIEW PROJECT >
A visual essay of my ink drawings and pastel paintings. Visual reflections on de-industrialization, decay, and the destruction of the natural environment along the Passaic River that flows through Newark, NJ. VIEW PROJECT >
A selection of artwork, drawings, and paintings of imaginary worlds VIEW PROJECT >
When I gaze across the Hudson River from New Jersey, the soaring towers, glassy behemoths, and dark canyons of Manhattan instill me with awe. The broad expanse of the city juts out of the water with crenelated and jagged skyscrapers as if proclaiming: “I am here to stay. Come sun, wind, or water, I will remain. I will grow.” VIEW PROJECT >
