I've always been fascinated by objects degraded by time and use—rusty truck boxes, scratched tools, bent signage, the Scrambler ride from the county fair. Imperfect veneers constantly changing under the rigors of life: chipped, scratched, and faded, but still useful. Each mark, gouge, and dent tells a story, spins a yarn, or becomes a fable because absolute truth, like the past, no longer exists.

As I get older, this ethos is becoming more personal—the dings and patinas we suffer through life transcend wisdom and character, creating ‘new’ beauty. Paradoxically, it gives us an opportunity—consciously or not—to create myths and mysteries. Our history is a story we tell ourselves. The work explores this concept through minimal forms, mixed palettes, and nature's input.

My work has a spiritual nod to the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. Simplistically, it is a worldview centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as an appreciation of beauty that is ‘imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete’ in nature.

Author Richard R. Powell distills the belief through a Western lens: ‘Wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities—nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

The work falls into the cultural mode of metamodernism - a term used to describe an aesthetic approach that oscillates between modern and postmodern attitudes. It recognizes the irony and skepticism of postmodernism but also reaches toward sincerity, hope, and optimism of modernism - without pretending those things are simple or absolute.

The concept started with scrap sheet metal—old signage, shelving, and cabinets. As this supply became exhausted, I realized the opportunity costs of searching for scrap exceeded the cost of starting with virgin steel. Once in the ecosystem, however, I employ a circular economy principle in the creation process of my work - using scrap from previous projects, reclaiming portions that were “dead ends,” or simply reimagining current pieces.

Sub-textually, the work is a critique of conspicuous consumption fueled by the transformation from artisan capitalism to our current neo-feudalist, government corporatism. The former,  which created essential and enduring products has been replaced by a wasteful system that promotes mindless consumerism for temporary objects and short-lived gratification. I think it's incumbent upon artists to be aware of how their use of matériel and energy impact society at large.