This body of work began with the discovery of letters from friends, family and exes in my damp basement. These letters were about 30 years old and had been written to me when I left Texas for Chicago and graduate school. They were torn and stained and moldy and they smelled. Not knowing what else to do, I took them to my studio .

I ended up with 43 works ( Post , PackerSchopf Gallery, December - January 2006 ) that use the letters as starting points. I didn't want to lose or argue with what was already present - the way the writing moved across the page, repetitively and rhythmically, or how the body of the text sat within the edges of the paper and created a kind of   visual "hum" - so I started with a very simple formal vocabulary. (These formal limits ultimately became more of a tool rather than a stylistic imperative as process insisted on itself. As it always seems to do for me... ) I also was very clear that   I didn't want there to be a voyeuristic element to the work, so the words and sentences are obscured to some degree.

As I continued to work I hung completed pieces on my studio wall and a kind of conversation began between them that moved in all directions. The dialogue was most interesting when the formal language qualities of each piece were in some way oppositional, i.e. a "minimal" work chatted up a "constructivist" piece. This was a surprise, and started me thinking about motif as a unifying factor, as opposed to style. Having always believed that style has to be content driven in successful art, I also chaffed against the limitations a style imposed. No one style seemed to encompass a full range of imaginative expression for me. Something always had to be left out. Motif, however, seems to provide an infinitely elastic platform for exploration.

When I brought the work to Aron's gallery his curatorial decisions made this expressive potential even more evident. For the pieces to occupy the space most effectively, the work was divided into variously sized groupings.   I made the provisional choices for each group and got the heck out of there. (Note to artists:   In my experience, making oneself scarce at some point during installation is an excellent choice. The good will and sanity of all parties depend on it).

I returned to find a beautifully installed show. What made me the happiest were the changes Aron made to the compositions of the groups - completely unexpected juxtapositions that absolutely worked, and made me see the work differently.

-August 2007