Mentation from my Baroque series was selected by Saul Drake, Exhibits Project Director, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES), for the Winging It: Birds in Art exhibit at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (main gallery).

This marked my sixth consecutive acceptance at this prestigious venue affiliated with The Smithsonian, coinciding with the Landmark exhibit at Kay Daugherty Gallery (above the main gallery), where my other piece, Canyon I, was on display.

Duration:June 5 (opening night)–August 23, 2026

About Mentation

Media: Layered hybrid media (pastel, acrylic, and pigment print) on watercolor paper mounted on a 24×36-inch cradled wood panel.Concept: I am interested in the gap between the known (recognizable) and the unknown (abstract), inviting the viewer to delve into their subconscious and “finish” the painting.Applying this philosophy to Mentation, the images of birds are deconstructed to serve as a metaphor for human cognition. By using headless, abstracted birds, the work moves away from ornithological study and toward a representation of “flying thoughts.” These avian forms symbolize the erratic and elusive nature of imagination—ideas that take flight before they are fully formed. It captures the kinetic energy of a mind in flight—a personal experience amidst work in progress, depicting my creative frenzy.

Dawn from my Spirits series was selected by Jowita Wyszomiska, the independent juror of the month, for the May 2026 Open Exhibit at The Art League Gallery, Alexandria, VA.

Exhibit Duration: May 6–June 7, 2026

About the selected piece:

Dawn, a layered watercolor and pigment print on a 24×24-inch wood watermedia panel, is the fifth painting from my Spirits series selected for a monthly exhibit at The Art League. Two previous pieces from this series received Best in Show and Honorable Mention awards and were sold by The Art League.

The “Spirits” series fuses figurative and landscape painting through a musical approach—a unique technique employing dense, filament-like lines (melody) and parallel striations (harmony), reminiscent of intaglio or etching. I hope to emphasize environmental awareness with this approach. The veiled figures, rendered in neutral tones, contrast with the warm landscape, symbolizing the ethereal emergence of nature’s guardians and underscoring humanity’s inherent connection to and responsibility for the Earth.

As a colorist artist trained by the founders and followers of the Washington Color School, I have developed my practice from abstract color field painting. I now employ a surreal approach, introducing elements of reality to explore the gap between the known (recognizable forms) and the unknown (abstract expression). This investigation centers on my “Spirits” series, in which innovative digital and mixed-media techniques fuse the human figure and landscape, emphasizing environmental connection.

 

Manifest from my Baroque series was selected by the independent juror, Claude Elliot, for the Art League July 2026 Open Exhibit.

Exhibit Duration: July 8–August 2, 2026

About Manifest

Media: Layered hybrid media (watercolor, acrylic ink and pigment print) on watercolor paper mounted on a 36×24-inch cradled wood panel.

Concept: This painting combines abstract and recognizable elements to depict the transitional states of matter (gas, liquid, and solid). A male dancer is captured in mid-movement, his back arched as he appears to float in the air. Dominating the center is a translucent liquid or gel with a net formation that serves as a visual metaphor for transformation. The background features a digital collage of the artist’s ink sketches with organic and fractal marks on the left and Gothic architectural arches on the right. I combined these elements to bring the abstract into tangible forms in a dynamic theater stage, where the dancer’s grace brings to life what unfolds before him.