Can you describe the inspiration behind the Corallium series, showcased in Personal Structures 2024? 

At the heart of the installation is my love for the sea and marine life. The rejuvenation of the coral reefs in the Playa Santa Bay in southwest Puerto Rico particularly inspired the Corallium Series. My winter studio is located by the bay, and I snorkel and scuba dive in this area during the winter months. The imagery from my underwater life submerged in the Caribbean is embedded in my life. 

As recently as 15 years ago, the reefs were completely decimated due to pollution and boat traffic. In 2011, the Obama administration undertook an extensive federal project to restore the coral reefs. The reefs returned to health and were thriving once again until the summer of 2023 when the Caribbean Sea temperatures in the bay reached 104 degrees resulting in the reefs being “bleached”. Bleaching is a process that kills all the algae within the reef. Algae is the basic food source for marine life. The bay became a cemetery of white ghostly forms that were the remnants of live coral. 

One of the aims of the project is to inform the public about the devastating effects of climate change on coral reefs. Overfishing, marine pollution and the salinity of toxic rainfall (due to carbon emissions) are other major factors that are endangering our reefs. Coral reef restoration projects are being conducted successfully throughout the world. Scientists are farming coral reefs with seedlings by extracting samples from healthy reefs and growing new coral in a nursery. Once the coral is large enough, it is transplanted into endangered reefs. Coral reefs are the basic building blocks for marine life to exist. 

Your work is often compared to Eco Art due to your concern for the welfare of coral reefs. How do you balance this environmental consciousness with your artistic expression? 

Alchemy and the performative aspects of painting are the basis of my painting process. Simultaneously, throughout the last decade, environmental issues surrounding climate change have been formative in the development of the paintings. Form and content working in concert are fundamental to my practice. The ideas and the forms contained in a work are equal in importance. I always say a painting is only as strong as its weakest part. 

“Artistic expression” emerges from my process. Experimentation with oil paint, seawater, alcohol, and other painting mediums in various weather conditions, creates a path for the image to form while merging with the environmental issues that function as a departure point for the work. Physical interventions – like pouring layers of paint onto the painting surface, sanding, drawing, adding to and subtracting from the painting surface – are key to each layer of the work unfolding. The Corallium works are created on archival transparent film where processes, materials, and interactions mirror nature's own inventive process. All of life has been formed, and transformed, by the water, elements, and powerful forces of the sea. This perpetual churning of materials both creates the infinite variety of life on earth – and sustains it. Other examples of my practice addressing climate change issues are the Yellowstone Series, the Jeopardy Series, the Fragile Grace Series, and the Soudan Series. Ultimately, my painting process explores the ephemeral nature in the unknown and looks to convey the delicate state of our natural world.