Grotesque Series
2010-present
The grotesque originated as an ornamental painting style, dating back to 68 AD. During the Renaissance, the accidental discovery of the Roman Emperor Nero’s golden palace inspired artists like Raphael to incorporate vivid colors, fantastical imagery, and symmetrical compositions into their work. For these artists, the grotesque aesthetic represented not ugliness, but beauty.
The symmetrical forms in the Grotesque Series echo the grotesque frescoes of early Renaissance paintings and the Neronian grottoes. They challenge the Vitruvian ideal of symmetry as beauty and purity through abstracted forms. Using stencils as tools for replication, I transform representational forms through repetition, overlapping, and reorientation, employing a collage-like technique. This approach enables me to create an expansive visual language with contrasting color palettes and repeated shapes.
The work draws parallels with the Rorschach test and Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm shift theory, as shapes interchange and shift between multiple forms, remaining in a state of flux. At times, the imagery is overtly recognizable, resembling icons from popular culture and nature, while at other times it is more concealed.
2010-present
The grotesque originated as an ornamental painting style, dating back to 68 AD. During the Renaissance, the accidental discovery of the Roman Emperor Nero’s golden palace inspired artists like Raphael to incorporate vivid colors, fantastical imagery, and symmetrical compositions into their work. For these artists, the grotesque aesthetic represented not ugliness, but beauty.
The symmetrical forms in the Grotesque Series echo the grotesque frescoes of early Renaissance paintings and the Neronian grottoes. They challenge the Vitruvian ideal of symmetry as beauty and purity through abstracted forms. Using stencils as tools for replication, I transform representational forms through repetition, overlapping, and reorientation, employing a collage-like technique. This approach enables me to create an expansive visual language with contrasting color palettes and repeated shapes.
The work draws parallels with the Rorschach test and Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm shift theory, as shapes interchange and shift between multiple forms, remaining in a state of flux. At times, the imagery is overtly recognizable, resembling icons from popular culture and nature, while at other times it is more concealed.
