WATER FIRE

Operating firmly within the lineage of Abstract Expressionism, the artist visualizes the elemental duality of *WATER FIRE* through a rigorous application of heavy impasto and aggressive sgraffito. The composition is starkly bisected horizontally, with a dense canopy of cadmium reds and searing oranges dominating the upper register, while deep indigos and cool teals pool across the lower half. Treating the support as an active excavation site, the artist functions as a self-described "twenty-first-century primitive," building thick layers of pigment only to furiously carve back into them with sticks and knives. This highly physical scraping technique imposes a sprawling, unstable grid of vertical and horizontal striations across the wet paint, merging the structural discipline of architectural design with instinctual materiality. Rooted in a formal study of Symbolism, the resulting geometric scaffolding attempts to map a chaotic, deeply textured terrain. Ultimately, by vigorously dragging and scoring the heavy paint, the gouged surface operates as a highly tactile artifact that permanently records the sheer physical force of its own creation.