Standing in front of an open refrigerator, especially at night, is an exceptionally rich experience for me. I love the way the light spills over the food and various containers out into the room. The colors, textures, shapes, the change of the seasons are all very much alive for me as I peer into my fridge.
I began this journey of inquiry by photographing my own fridge. Overtime I started asking friends, family and strangers if I could take portraits of the interiors of their fridges. Most of these refrigerators have been photographed as I have found them. Some people even offered up their freezers! Still others have been shy to expose the refrigerators to the camera.
Open Refrigerators was inspired by my friend Fabienne Khial. Her constantly changing Fridge and her overwhelming love of food has been of intriguing importance to me. She truly has a wild forest of food in her fridge… Fragrant and alive.
I live out in the rugged country at some distance to the nearest store. So, my refrigerator is often incredibly full. I love feeling abundant in this way. I, of course share this fridge with my family, so there are the inevitable constant changes that occur as everyone contributes to its arrangement. Some food have their designated homes, others seem to roam around a bit depending on the available space or the person taking things out or putting things away. Our own refrigerator, in a sense, is an intimate glimpse into me… and my family.
I hope you’ll enjoy the journey into these food sanctuaries as much as I have.
BIO
Painting and photography are truly acts of discovery. I love the experience of observing the image as it emerges on the canvas or in the photographic process. Often I feel this unfolding as a part of my spiritual practice—a meditation.
Curious by nature, I love to explore and inhabit the intimacy of people and places in a variety of ways. Behind the camera I am moved to see how a person is gradually revealed or how light changes a space to become a vital part of the experience itself. And the creative process is all playful—a spontaneous and intimate conversation with the subject.
As an artist, I am also excited by the dialogue between light, form, and color. Even in the shadows, a wonderfully rich, vibrant dance of color often dwells. In contrast, the pure, clean feeling of black and white can sometimes create a welcome relief in a color-saturated world.
After formal training with photography and film, Atlanta College of Art. I spent the next twenty years in New York City working on print, commercials, and films. In 1996 I became so inspired by the Picasso exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art that I immersed myself in painting, primarily exploring portraiture and the figure ever since.
I consider myself blessed that many of my paintings and photographs have become a part of private collections throughout the United States, Europe and South America.
At the moment, I continue to engage in the creative process in Big Sur, California and New York City.