Turbulent Times

Nowadays the whole world seems to be on the edge. Some say that we have never been closer to a nuclear war, at least not since the cold war days. Regardless of all this chaos and turmoil, I remain an optimist at heart, and although some of my art has an edge that turns into political and social satire, I do believe that we can make this world a better place for all. In general, in case you missed this, besides beauty and harmony and eyecandy, I have a taste for things that are strange and peculiar and mysterious and this shows up in my art. I am very drawn to the unknown. Many of my drawings and some of my paintings have aspects to them that could be considered bizarre and surreal in their presentation. This comes to me naturally. You see, I see and look at the world in many different ways. Like everyone, I see things the way they are in regular context but also in the negative space and like many artists, I also see things as just color and form and besides this, I also see things as what they resemble in form besides what they seem to be. Shadows and highlights are particularly great for the latter type imaginative play for me. In my art I try to combine all of these ways of seeing and perceiving. I trust that people who are interested will explore my works to see what they will find in them. Many of the forms I use can be perceived in numerous ways. This is done on purpose although part of this process clearly stems from the subconscious. I have also noticed that when I change I see and perceive different forms and associations in my own art. This has truly convinced me of the following. The world is always a mirror to us. It mirrors back our own understandings of what we think is so and what we see as possible. Things that do not hold a distinction for us are basically not conceivable to us, but become part of the background until we become conscious of them and can find them in the bigger picture. The nature of reality is fluid and never stagnant, even if we perceive it as such. Everything is constantly moving and swirling in the space, even if we cannot see these movements. This is why I have hope for humanity. Even when I cannot see any improvement in the human condition I believe that we can and will change this world for the better. It has taken humanity a long time to make the social improvements we currently enjoy and at times the progress is very slow and even seemingly backward. But I believe that as long as there are people who want to make this world a better place for all, that is the direction we will be headed. That is as long as some authorities in power can keep their fingers off those little red buttons that could end this world.