Biography/Current Influences

Origins

I was born and raised in Center City Philadelphia, near the Franklin Institute in the Locust Square section. My formal training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the University of Pennsylvania gave me a foundation, but not a formula. From early on, I understood that my work would follow an independent path—guided less by rules and more by instinct, observation, and persistence.

Looking Out

My earliest serious paintings began with what I could see from my window in Fairmount: houses pressed close together, rooftops, windows, and streets. These ordinary views became a starting point. Later, from a tenth-floor apartment overlooking the neighborhood, my perspective widened. The city revealed itself not just as architecture, but as pattern, rhythm, and movement.

Shifting Perspective

As my view expanded, so did my approach. Representation slowly gave way to abstraction. Doorways and windows dissolved into flowing color and form. Neighborhoods became living entities—shaped by energy, density, and motion rather than strict geography.

Barrios and Beyond

In recent years, images of barrios from around the world—Port-au-Prince, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Rio de Janeiro—have resonated deeply with work I had already been making. These places, though separated by distance and culture, share a visual language and a human pulse. Their forms echo one another, as if cities everywhere are variations on a single idea.

Where I Am Now

My current work blends the neighborhoods of Philadelphia with those seen across the globe. The paintings exist somewhere between observation and memory, abstraction and reality. They reflect a belief that we are all connected by the places we inhabit—and that these places, layered and imperfect, are very much alive.