GG 28
2017
oil on linen
18 x 20 inches
Gateless Barrier-Night
2017
oil on linen
11 x 14 inches
GG 11
2017
oil on linen
13 x 15 inches
GG 12
2017
oil on linen
13 x 15 inches
GG blue
2019
oil on linen
13 x 15
GG 1
2017
oil on linen
13 x 15 inches
GG #25
2016
oil on linen
10 x 12 inches
GG 24
2016
oil on linen
10 x 10 inches
GG 17
2017
oil on linen
14 x 16 inches
GG 16
2017
oil on linen
14 x 16 inches

The work investigates notions of interior/exterior, boundaries, floor plans and landscape. Some work depicts the ambiguity of “infinite space;” framing it with colored sticks, evoking hard-edged, geometric abstraction that has become somewhat disheveled and rickety. In other paintings, the cartoon-like, wooden 2x4s, reference the rudimentary scaffolding of modernist stage design. They also function as a diagram of a mind during meditation.


Taking as a starting point, two images: First, the “The Gateless Barrier” (the title of a 13th century Chinese collection of zen koans). The image suggests either a barrier with no entry point or an open gate. Second, the image is a space to reflect on our own mental frames, filters, or personal narratives through which each of us views and interacts with the world.

This group of paintings attempts to literalize these two metaphors while mixing them with elements of modernist abstraction, both graphic and painterly.


2017