My paintings fall into several genres, although I primarily consider myself to be a Contemporary Op Artist.

Here are several additional styles that are relevant to my creative output:

Geometric Abstract Painting

This term relates to my use of geometric shapes, forms, and patterns as the primary elements of my non-representational work. I explore relationships between shapes, colors, and spatial arrangements, often emphasizing balance, order, and harmony.

My work embodies a pursuit of visual purity and aesthetic perfection, where the focus is on the harmony of form and color, without the distractions of representational content or emotional expression.

While other artists use a variety of geometric shapes, such as circles, rectangles, triangles, and other basic shapes, squares dominate my compositions. In some cases, I overlay a grid of equally spaced lines on top of a series of squares. I refer to this series as my Interreticulation Series. Examples of this series include June 24 2020, September 21 2022, and April 12 2020.

All my paintings, so far, are done on perfectly square surfaces of either canvas, wood panel, paper, or aluminum. These pieces range in size from 4” X 4” to 36” X 36”.

Mathematical precision is another common element in Geometric Abstract paintings, which is true of my work. My designs are carefully planned and constructed with a sense of mathematical order, balance, and symmetry.

Geometric Abstraction typically avoids the illusion of depth or perspective, emphasizing the flatness of the surface and focusing on the interaction of shapes and color on the surface. However, I do enjoy investigating how the choices of hue, value, and chroma can create optical illusions of depth and perspective, such as in this painting entitled “April 7, 2021.” My Asterism Series features many pieces that appear to ebb and flow, to approach the viewer and recede toward the background. Other examples include November 4 2020, July 6 2021, and February 23 2023. I also offer many examples of my geometric abstractionist work as Giclee Prints in my Etsy Shop.

Another common theme among Geometric Abstractionists is the bold use of color. I enjoy creating works that feature bright, contrasting colors that emphasize the purity of the shapes and the visual impact of the composition.

Geometric Abstraction has roots in early 20th-century movements like Cubism, Futurism, and Constructivism, where artists began to break away from realistic representation in favor of abstraction. Piet Mondrian and the De Stijl movement, for example, played a significant role in advancing geometric abstraction by promoting pure abstraction with basic forms and primary colors. Other influential artists include Kazimir Malevich, with his Suprematist works, and Wassily Kandinsky, who explored abstraction in geometric forms as part of the Bauhaus school.

I have been heavily influenced by some later Geometric Abstractionists who were central to the Op Art movement, particularly those who were colorists. This includes Josef Albers, Julian Stanczak, Richard Anuszkiewicz, and others.

Post-Painterly Abstraction

Post-Painterly Abstraction is a term coined by the art critic Clement Greenberg in the 1960s to describe a new approach to abstract painting that evolved as a reaction against the emotionally charged, gestural techniques of Abstract Expressionism. It refers to a broad range of abstract art styles that emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s, characterized by a focus on clarity, openness, and formal precision, rather than personal or emotional content.

As I mentioned above, I consider myself to be primarily a Contemporary Op Artist. But some characteristics of Post-Painterly Abstraction are relevant to my work, including:

• Emphasis on formal elements: my paintings focus on shape, color, line, and composition rather than on conveying emotions or personal narratives.
• Flatness and lack of texture: Post-Painterly Abstract works like mine feature smooth, flat surfaces with minimal visible brushwork or texture, emphasizing the two-dimensionality of the surface.
• Purity of color: my color is used in unmodulated areas of varying sizes, often creating striking contrasts. There is a clear, vibrant use of color without blending or shading.
• Precision and control: unlike the gestural, spontaneous approach of Abstract Expressionism, Post-Painterly Abstraction often involves careful planning and control. I create clear, sharp shapes, geometric forms, and clean edges, and employ mathematical precision in my designs.
• Lack of subjectivity: artists in this movement distanced themselves from personal expression and symbolism. I favor an impersonal, objective approach to abstraction.

Notable artists associated with Post-Painterly Abstraction include Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Stella, Helen Frankenthaler, and Morris Louis. This movement is seen as a bridge between Abstract Expressionism and later minimalist and conceptual art movements, focusing on the “purity” of painting without the expressive or personal overtones of its predecessors.

Some Post-Painterly Abstractionists moved towards minimalism, stripping down the elements to the bare essentials of form and color.

Hard-Edge Abstraction

Like Post-Painterly Abstraction, Hard-Edge Abstract Painting is a style of abstract art characterized by precise, sharp transitions between areas of color. The term was coined in the 1950s to describe a movement where artists rejected the spontaneous, expressive brushstrokes of Abstract Expressionism in favor of cleaner, more defined geometric shapes and clear boundaries.

My work as a Contemporary Op Artist can clearly be labeled as hard-edge. My colors and geometric forms are defined using layers of masking tape, a technique perfected by artists such as Julian Stanczak.

Key characteristics of Hard-Edge Abstraction include:

• Sharp, well-defined edges: my colors or shapes are separated by distinct lines, often creating a clean, mechanical appearance.
• Geometric forms: Hard-Edge Abstractionists utilize circles, squares, rectangles, and other simple geometric shapes, arranged in visually dynamic ways.
• Flat areas of color: like Post-Painterly Abstract paintings, colors are often applied in solid, unmodulated patches with little or no shading or texture, emphasizing the purity of color.
• Lack of emotional expression: unlike the more expressive, gestural styles of art, hard-edge painting is focused on form and color rather than personal or emotional content.

Hard-edge painting became widespread in the 1960s, although it was mostly present in California. Artists like John McLaughlin, Lorser Feitelson, Karl Benjamin, Frederick Hammersley, and Feitelson’s wife Helen Lundeberg created both figurative and non-representational artwork. In 1959, Los Angeles Times art critic Jules Langsner curated the first exhibition of their pieces at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art before traveling overseas.