in praise of folly

This work cycles around the annual ritual of Mardi Gras. Each year, the reversal of order through costume, song, and spectacle is an absurd and cherished release from normal life. Friends and familiars fill these works: revelers who inspire me. In the studio, I balance material focus with spontaneous gestural abandon. This push and pull mimics the parades: at once overwhelming and intimate and so much better when I give myself over to the experience. These oil paintings serve as an act of preservation, these often inexplicable events are steeped in centuries of carnival tradition.

With this work I retain hope for a vibrant future where freedom of expression is the standard. While painting these events I consider themes of adolescence, play, privilege, queerness, and violence.

* In Praise of Folly, written by Desiderius Erasmus in 1511, is a satirical eulogy that suggests “folly” - play, irrationality, excess, and humor - is not simply foolishness, but something essential to human life.