I grew up in Tribeca, in downtown Manhattan surrounded by artists and
galleries. On a typical Saturday afternoon my Dad (an artist) and I could drop
by the Castelli Gallery in Soho and see sculpture by Richard Serra, paintings
by Warhol or hear a synthesizer concert by Philip Glass. It was an incredible
time to be a kid in NYC. But in spite of all the highbrow culture that surrounded
me growing up, my real heroes were Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb, and Frank
Frazetta. These were the masters I revered, and their influence has helped
sustain my work to this day. After getting a BA at Columbia, I went to live in
France for a time and came back for an MFA at Hunter and a reeducation
about what it means to be an artist in 1980’s NYC. MFA in hand, I
supported myself doing magic marker sketches at ad agencies until I moved
to Los Angeles in 1991 and shifted into painting backdrops for rock bands,
movies and theatre. Which I did for over 25 years. All the while I’ve cultivated
my own art practice and have been able to show in numerous Los Angeles
galleries including La Luz de Jesus and Thinkspace Projects. My work is in
many private collections and in the collections of MOMA, New York City, the
De Young in San Francisco and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. I
am deeply grateful for all the opportunities I've been given in my life. Everything
I've accomplished has been with the support and the help of many generous
people.
galleries. On a typical Saturday afternoon my Dad (an artist) and I could drop
by the Castelli Gallery in Soho and see sculpture by Richard Serra, paintings
by Warhol or hear a synthesizer concert by Philip Glass. It was an incredible
time to be a kid in NYC. But in spite of all the highbrow culture that surrounded
me growing up, my real heroes were Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb, and Frank
Frazetta. These were the masters I revered, and their influence has helped
sustain my work to this day. After getting a BA at Columbia, I went to live in
France for a time and came back for an MFA at Hunter and a reeducation
about what it means to be an artist in 1980’s NYC. MFA in hand, I
supported myself doing magic marker sketches at ad agencies until I moved
to Los Angeles in 1991 and shifted into painting backdrops for rock bands,
movies and theatre. Which I did for over 25 years. All the while I’ve cultivated
my own art practice and have been able to show in numerous Los Angeles
galleries including La Luz de Jesus and Thinkspace Projects. My work is in
many private collections and in the collections of MOMA, New York City, the
De Young in San Francisco and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. I
am deeply grateful for all the opportunities I've been given in my life. Everything
I've accomplished has been with the support and the help of many generous
people.