SCRAPS
The subjects of this series of trompe l'oeil paintings are scraps of mattress fabric that I collect from discarded, found mattresses. Mattresses are one of those ubiquitous, and therefore often overlooked, domestic artifacts. We see them on a regular basis in our homes, we sleep on them every night, and we encounter one nearly every day as trash in dumpsters and alleyways. I am obsessed with discarded mattresses, especially the ones covered in fabric with a decorative floral motif. When I see a discarded mattress, I can’t help but feel sorry for it: something so useful and intimate becoming trash overnight.
I think the typical response to a trashed mattress is one of revulsion, but here, re-presented in the form of faithfully observed and delicate artworks, they become things to inspect and admire, as well.
These "Scrap Paintings" have been shown in a number of contexts, most notably, perhaps, in the 2012 group exhibition Centering the Margin at Root Division in San Francisco; in 2011 at the Governor's Island Art Fair in NYC; and in my 2012 solo show Flowered Over at Montevallo University in Alabama.