Zen brush work is essentially gestural action. Line, movement, shape, energy inform the calligrapher's brush. Freedom, spontaneity, syncopation, improvisation and individual interpretation are its inherent elements and give to Zen calligraphy the character of music and dance. It has much in common with flamenco. Both forms of art embrace a philosophical disposition of mind, a particular and distinctive way of seeing, being, judging. To capture the essence of an emotion, an experience, an idea is a central tenet common to both.

THE PAINTINGS:

“Cante Jondo” is Gypsy in origin. These are songs of love, death and despair of the exiled, the incarcerated, the abandoned, the persecuted. The voice starts in the depths of the singer's body. He pulls it up to the top of his full-throat and wrestles with it through infinite nuances until there is nothing but sheer emotion. The grapple itself forms the calligraphic design of voice. The stretched vowels over time look like long calligraphic strokes.

“El Bailaor ” is a choreography of cursive calligraphy. Arabesques of fingers, hands, arms, the body in energetic motion or in flowing meditative moves are zen brush in action. The palmas (claps) and pitos (finger snapping) are implied parts of the design.

“Alegria”
The grand finale is the moment when the concentrated seriousness of a flamenco performance gives way to exuberance, spontaneity, improvisation. Roles are playfully swapped: the singer plays the guitar or dances, the guitarist sings or dances; the dancers may sing suddenly, all to the enormous delight of the audience. Spectators join the performers on stage. Pataitas (little kicks) from a member of the audience on stage can bring the house down in an explosion of encouragement, joy and appreciation. Truly this is the magic moment when we all become flamenco.

"Brooklyn Bridge” is part of a series of New York landscapes. The artist is interested in applying ancient Asian painting aesthetics to contemporary local subject matter. Here it is used as a symbolic bridge between two art forms and two traditions.

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BIO

Painter, educator, attorney

Board Member of the National Sumi-e Society of America, Inc.
President of the New York Chapter of the Sumi-e Society
Member of the Japanese Art Association

Exhibits : Broome St. Gallery (NYC), Blue Mountain Gallery (NYC), Godwin-Ternback Museum of Queens College, Silvermine Art Center (CT), Sylvan Gallery (CT), China Institute (NYC), Brooklyn Botanical Gardens Conservatory, Evergreen Gallery (NJ), Consulate General of Japan (NYC), Strathmore Hall (Bethesda, MD), Open Center (NYC)

Artist's works are in private collections in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland and Italy.

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