My latest series of paintings are of arctic landscapes. It was a series conceived from a
combination of experiences I had, each different from the other, yet tied together by an
underlying feeling of isolation.

The first encounter I had with this beautiful yet inhospitable landscape was on a cruise to
Alaska after the tragic death of my friend George. The immensity of the landscape perfectly
complimented the overwhelming grief and emotional dislocation I felt at the time. The other
encounters I've had with this landscape are through photographs and film. In particular, a
scene in a film about the pianist Glenn Gould, known for playing precise and moody
interpretations of Bach. In this scene he is walking across a white expanse of ice, alone with
his head down, hands thrust into his pockets against a soundtrack punctuated with silence, or
at least that is how I remember it. And lastly, the many photographs I've come across of the
North and South Poles, documented by others who are drawn to this stark and haunting
environment.

These paintings are similar to my work as a whole - reductive, spare, solemn. It feels natural
for me to place the subject of a painting in the middle of a canvas so that it appears to float in
a non-specified space. Whether it is a singular iceberg drifting out at sea, or two objects
placed side-by-side, the subjects function like actors on a stage. These object-actors represent
my own personal, internal narrative. Every shadow or reflection is as important to my story as
the subject itself. Two dominant themes have emerged over the years. One theme, a result of
my ongoing practice of Buddhism, manifests as quiet meditations on existence and
non-existence. The other theme, where the distance or lack of distance between two objects
in the painting is significant, attempts to communicate something about the uneasy nature of
my relationships.

With the icebergs I feel like I have found the perfect vehicle to express what I find the most
intriguing and unsettling about life......that what I see and know is a small portion of
something largely hidden and existing in depths unfathomable.