Artist Statement
I've had a life long love affair with geometry, and my sweet spot is taking ancient geometric traditions – particularly, in recent years, Islamic geometric patterns – and combining them with modern mathematical concepts like fractals and polyhedra to create unique, contemporary art and décor. I love making art that captures ancient traditions with a modern twist, and that brings meditative order, beauty, and peace into people's private spaces.
All of my work stems from one core impulse: to celebrate the inherent beauty of mathematical forms. I believe we all share an innate appreciation for symmetry and pattern. Once one's eyes are attuned, these forms appear all around us – in trees and crystals, in dunes and flowers, in ancient temples and modern skyscrapers.
Rather than directly depict these outer manifestations, I explore the abstract forms underlying it all – polyhedra, fractals, tessellations, and so on. There is something sacred in the creation and viewing of these forms that allows me to meditate on the infinite patterns present in the deep structure of our world.
I feel an artistic kinship with the often anonymous artisans behind Islamic design, and Celtic knots, and Indian kolams, and Tibetan mandalas. Simultaneously, I am invigorated by how the most modern technologies – such as computer modeling, laser cutting, 3D printing – allow me to create art those ancient colleagues could barely imagine. I revel in blending the very old and the very new to create something completely novel.
As beautiful as they are, raw mathematical shapes are to me merely starting points. By seeking new combinations, I move beyond just exploration to true innovation. Thus, although I use the computer to create most of my pieces, I never generate them from code, preferring to use the computer as a tool to recombine basic forms by hand and forge my own creations.
I work with multiple media and techniques because ultimately it is the forms themselves that resonate for me. Just as Bach wrote fugues that can be played on a keyboard, or on strings, or be sung, I like to create patterns that can be printed on aluminum, or cut from wood, or 3D printed in plaster. For me, treating the same patterns in multiple media further emphasizes their universality.