ORIGINS OF THIS NEW CHAPTER
Since the passing of my father in 2023 and the reflection that ensued (and, if you haven’t read it, was rendered in this essay that helped me process the loss), I’ve had an unwavering motivation to manifest everything I need to achieve a fulfilled and integrated creative life without compromise or fear. To produce art of meaning and significance that belongs in a broader conversation that spans lifetimes and speaks, not only to this moment, but our humanity, our world, our past and our future.

RECENT REFLECTIONS

A couple of weeks ago, while in LA to continue a project in the LA fire zones, a traffic jam compelled me to change and go the opposite direction, into the desert, and out to the Salton Sea, where I found a dystopian yet uncannily beautiful landscape. While floating in the trance-like reverie that I enter when photographing, I found myself bathed in endless blue light, as though the world was filtered through it before hitting my eyes. While the content captured was extraordinarily compelling—you’ll see the results eventually—I realized that there is nothing I would change about my life.

I am blessed to have found a path that is perfectly aligned with the core of my being. Every challenge, every barrier, every success has led me to this point. I’m buoyed, inspired, and challenged by my extraordinary wife, Brett, whose wisdom, vision, and sensitivity are boundless, my children, Sam and Max, who keep me curious and remind me that I am not the center, but part of the circles we travel, and people like you who support my path. I spoke a bit about this in a recent interview with aspire design and home, an online design and art site: LINK, as well as two feature articles last summer, here and here.

AN INVESTMENT/PATRONAGE APPEAL UNDERWAY

There comes a time in any successful entrepreneur’s career when its potential cannot be fully realized without external support. For 15 years I’ve sustained myself, my family, and my practice through the sale of my art (something by which I am truly humbled), but there is much more to be done. I have come to realize that just because I can wear all the hats necessary to sustain this enterprise, it doesn’t mean I should. In fact, the diffusion of  attention across such a range of responsibilities has  limited my capacity to focus on the core of the practice—the art and the relationships it avails. Now, with my artistic vision clearer than it’s ever been, I concluded that I can’t reach the next level without collaboration and collective effort, in many different capacities.

My primary focus was securing an endowment for the hiring of a professional with decades of experience in the contemporary art world to take over the responsibilities that have historically kept me from focusing on the art to my fullest extent. As you may have read, I hired the perfect person to fill this role, and the benefits of this collaboration have been manifold. 

I began this process by reaching out to a handful of devoted patrons with a detailed strategic investment appeal to support several initiatives that require investment to realize.  I’m happy to report that thus far I’ve secured 1/3 of my stated need of the 400k necessary to fully realize my vision over the next two years. This support has given me the runway needed to make the hire central to this plan.

Should you be interested in learning more, even just out of curiosity, here is a link to the pdf. Even if it’s not something you’re able to contribute to materially, there are many ways that your support can be registered that involve building community and opportunity in new directions that I can’t access alone. 

AN HONOR BESTOWED

After 23 years as an artist member of this indispensable Nantucket institution of creators and art lovers, I was the honoree for the Artists Association of Nantucket's Gala & Auction last summer. I am deeply moved by this acknowledgement of my contributions to the rich cultural tradition of Nantucket as a humble and committed member of this continuum, recognizing that by choosing me as the first photographer to be granted this distinction is a sign of the organization's commitment to support all creative endeavors in the visual arts, regardless of the means of production. 

Many of you attended the wonderful event, but for those of you who couldn’t, here is a casual video of my speech my wife took.

STRIDES TOWARD REPRESENTATION

A major focus of my collaboration with Naomi has been taking efforts to secure representation with major international contemporary art galleries in NY, LA, London, Berlin, Paris and even Tokyo and the Middle East. So much of the work you’ve seen to date represents only one segment of my broader practice. While my landscape work of which the Nantucket work is the heart, is fundamental to everything else, ever since my time in graduate school at Columbia (2008-2010), I’ve been exploring so many threads of investigation that have been expanding consistently in a deep, self-created, forest, far from the public eye. This isolation resulted from several factors ranging from logistical complexity to insecurities to fears of failure. But now I have never been more ready to leave that wood and enter the broader cultural context and contribute to the continuum of creative expression and share with the world with confidence, clarity, and purpose.

We are in conversations with many major galleries whose artist rosters are in conversation with the ideas and form that I explore in my practice. This chapter of my life will be defined not only by a commitment to my art, but also a pursuit of dialogue within a community of creators, critics, academics, patrons, and impassioned appreciators. While I don’t have specifics to share yet, I have no doubt that these efforts will begin to bear fruit. So, stay tuned.