Artist Statement
My work explores life, death, memory, and healing through symbolic still life painting. I like working in oil paint because it is the medium I feel most comfortable with. Oil lets me slowly build layers, adjust color, and develop depth over time. Objects such as skulls, flowers, candles, and paper cranes appear often in my paintings, serving as symbols that can carry different meanings for different viewers of my work.
This direction in my work is shaped by personal loss. In 2021, I lost my last grandfather. In 2023, I lost my father, and three months later I lost my grandmother, my dad’s mom. Losing two generations of my family in the same year created a deep sense of absence in my life. Losing my father has been the most painful experience I have ever faced. He was one of the closest people to me and someone who shaped my understanding of family, guidance, and support. His absence is something I still feel every day. Painting has become a way for me to sit with that grief instead of avoiding it, and the studio has become a place where reflection and memory can take visual form.
I am beginning a series of paintings that explores the idea of one thousand paper cranes. The tradition of folding one thousand cranes, known as 'Senbazuru', symbolizes longevity, healing, and good fortune, based on a legend that completing the cranes grants a wish. Popularized by the story of Sadako Sasaki, the cranes have become a symbol of hope and peace. In my work, a total of one thousand paper cranes will appear across multiple paintings in the series. This process reflects an ongoing search for happiness and peace as I cope with a lifetime of deep grief, using the cranes to explore mourning, loss, healing, and the presence of hope.
I am approaching this series through different color schemes while exploring a burnt sienna monochromatic palette. Burnt sienna is traditionally used in oil painting as an underpainting color, and working within this limited range allows me to focus on light, form, and atmosphere while maintaining a unified emotional tone throughout the paintings. I begin with traditional still life arrangements and gradually transform them through color, lighting, and symbolic placement. By combining familiar objects with the repeated presence of paper cranes, the paintings create spaces where viewers can reflect on their own personal losses and the healing found within their lives.