Portfolio > Decoys and Wheel of Fortune

In the series, Great Expectations, daily newspaper sports coverage is the source for compositions based on contours of athletes “in play.” Translating their forms into lush paisley abstractions resonates with the peculiar reality of players who are reduced to a number yet simultaneously elevated by the fetishism of their fans. Paisley, a common fabric pattern with a deep and complex history, serves as a metaphor for erased history and the emptying out of significance when a form is commodified. Problematic aspects of the commercialization of sports slip away in its overwhelming spectacle. The decorative camouflage in these paintings implies underlying nuance.