![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/1px(2).png)
PAINTING (WORDS)
Every word set in type is a contest between form and content. The typography inflects the meaning; the meaning tugs at the type.
My word paintings are a variant on concrete poetry, poems in which the visual presentation is at least as important as the semantics.
So far, my focus has been on pre-existing sets of words. AMERICAN TYPES uses details from the pages of mid-century type catalogs. I've worked with random password generators, sets of adverbs and prepositions, even the NATO code used by the Allies to designate bombing coordinates. My project WHAT uses category heading from the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress catalog systems.
In each body of work, I'm working with taxonomies, examining how we organize the medium of language we all use everyday.
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q9118.jpg)
JOB/GIRL enamel screenprint on gessoed canvases, 60" x 28" x 1.5" and 40" x 18.5 x 1.5", 1995
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q9118_Autocracy.jpg)
AUTOCRACY/COMPETITION enamel screenprint on gessoed canvas, 54" x 30" x 1.5", 1995
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q9118_NicheUrban.jpg)
NICHE enamel screenprint on gessoed canvas, 53" x 32" x 1.5", 1995
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q9118_RigidFrame.jpg)
RIGID FRAME enamel screenprint on gessoed canvases, 48" x 48" x 1.5" and 32" x 32 x 1.5", 1995
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/blankbooks_full_ob_201001.jpg)
BLANK BOOKS, ETC. acrylic on canvas over panels, 2006
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/will_201001_1500x2000.jpg)
WILL, ETC. acrylic on canvas over panels, 2006
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/WHAT_180814_1200x2000.jpg)
WHAT installation view, 2006
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/GenlPrinciples(1).jpg)
GENERAL PRINCIPLES, ETC. acrylic on canvas over panels, 2006
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/Crowds.jpg)
CROWDS, ETC. acrylic on canvas over panels, 2006
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/ShadesOfGrey_full_ob_200120_1200x2000.jpg)
SHADES OF GREY (DEWEY DECIMAL) 70 units: enamel & acrylic on canvas over panels, 74" x 560" x 1.25", 2005
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/SHADESOFGREY_LGdetail_171019_1000x2000(3).jpg)
SHADES OF GREY (DEWEY DECIMAL) (detail) 2005
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/_Q6A3169(1).jpg)
MORE & MORE OF LESS & LESS gesso, aluminum & acrylic on canvas, 54" x 54" x 1.5", 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q6645(1).jpg)
MAP THE GET gesso on canvas, 54" x 54" x 1.5", 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q7128_191030_1332x2000(1).jpg)
MAP THE GET (detail) 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q6645(3).jpg)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF A NATURAL SETTING gesso on canvas, 54" x 54" x 1.5", 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q6928.jpg)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF A NATURAL SETTING (detail) 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q6645_GUARANDAMNTEED_flat.jpg)
SMITHEREENS gesso on canvas, 54" x 54" x 1.5", 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q6915_191030_1332x2000.jpg)
SMITHEREENS (detail) 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q6956_190728_2000x2000.jpg)
IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO natural wool felt, interfacing, map pins, 35" x 35" x .25", 2019
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/DSC_5724_180723_2000x2000(4).jpg)
SILVER SUBTRACTION acrylic with mica on acrylic panel with cut-outs & custom steel brackets, 59" x 46" x .5", 2010
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/DSC_5794_150822_2000x2000(1).jpg)
BLUE THICKET enamel on acrylic panel with cut-outs & custom steel brackets, 59" x 46" x .5", 2010
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/DSC_5847_150709_2000x2000(5).jpg)
RED MAELSTROM enamel on acrylic panel with cut-outs & custom steel brackets, 46" x 46" x .5", 2010
![PAINTING (WORDS)](/images/workasset/321Q0625_190619_2000x2000(1).jpg)
ABBREVIATION acrylic & gesso on panel, 60" x 60" x 1.75", 2015