Ken Herren Contemporary Art, LLC

My motivation to create art fundamentally stems from the same source that inspires the work. As a child of six, I was privileged to experience an extraordinary event that provided not only a multi-sensory, visceral experience of joy, but simultaneously ushered in a sense of frustration, that with time, ultimately grew into an appreciation of recognizing possibility. In truth, it proved to be the best lesson in understanding the challenges and possibilities in life. It is this childhood memory that informs this collection of work. On an otherwise ordinary day, a semitrailer carrying hundreds of 5 gallon cans of paint lost its load on my neighborhood street. As a child, the whole scene: its array of color, sticky texture, and fragrance was beyond my wildest imagination. When the city heard about the incident, dump trucks full of sand converged onto our city street. Heralded by adult prudence to “reduce property damage,” workers heaped sand onto the larger than life abstract painting. In those moments, when their actions were deliberately altering my vista of pleasure, I felt my first pangs of life’s constraints. As is the case in life, things fell into a new normal, and mine was now defined by a crusty, rough-hewn surface that simply covered up vestiges of that fateful day. Over time, I came to appreciate the little peeks into the colorful swirls of paint that had captured my childlike wonder, lending a new perspective on finding emerging possibilities. When creating this collection of work, I start with a gestural, expressive and uniquely colorful underpainting. This part of the process brings me back to the childlike joy and distinct sense of being present and vitally aware. The acrylic infused pumice is then layered on, once again emulating the process of covering, concealing, leaving only a seductive peek hole into what once was, and what still could be.