My newest works are still very much grounded in an examination of life and living, and instead explore core questions about reality and the nature of human perception. As my interests become more fundamental (and also more existential), the forms the works themselves take have also become more abstract and elemental.

The physical form that most of my new works are based on is that of the “panel”, “plane” or “field”. Every element in our surrounding physical reality that is flat and has straight edges has been man-made, and almost everything in our constructed environment is made out of these planes or panels — think about plywood, sheetrock, printer paper, even a table-top or a bath towel. Because of this, the format of a flat plane or panel becomes a perfect amorphous shape that can slip between categories and social roles. It is my belief that these panels that exist both as literal and in a psychological fields of reality. These different realities can be as banal as the pages in a magazine (each page representing a different reality), or a wall that literally frames our experience (for instance what we see on one side is often very different then what we see or experience on the other side) or these realities can be as profound as unknowable planes of spiritual existence.

While this conceptual pursuit may sound somewhat immaterial, it intersects with the physical built environment. It has brought me back into the realm of architectural space, which I feel has always been part of my core DNA as an artist. In the last few years I’ve built two large scale works for the GSA Federal Center in Denver and the Middelheim Museum in Antwerp. I’ve also had two gallery exhibitions and am working on a third project that works with this “planar” conceptual framework.

But it’s always been an important part of my practice to make work that exists outside of the dominant mode of art world presentation and ultimately my goal is to focus as much of my energy as possible on A-Z West. In 2016 I spent pretty much all of my savings on several pieces of land. Among a few other parcels, I was able to buy fifteen acres between A-Z West and Highway 62 — this includes a large ten acre parcel, as well as a five acre parcel that has highway frontage. While this land will buffer A-Z West from future development, it is also the site of a simple planar sculpture that will traverse the hill in front of the compound down to the highway.

In addition to the 15 acres designated to the work that I’m calling the Planar Pavilions, I was able to purchase three cabins in Wonder Valley, each on five acres, that have been converted into minimal experimental living spaces for people in search of seclusion and privacy. Each cabin a little over 400 square feet and is completely off-the-grid with no water, power or solar, meaning that every function of day-to-day living must be carefully considered. The first two of these cabins have been installed with new works titled “Planar Configurations” that consist of vertical and horizontal panels that literally create support for life to happen on them. The abstracted forms provide surfaces that may be used to sleep, eat, or to sit on. The Planar Configurations suit these cabins in that they are an experiment in which all surfaces are totally neutral and yet highly functional at the same time. The difference between sitting on the floor of the cabin and the 2” high platform becomes obvious as you experience the fact that dirt gravitates to the lowest surface in the space.

If my practice asks the question “how to live” — these works propose that we live our lives aware of the highly constructed nature of our chosen realities — and that we immerse ourselves in them knowingly yet with an awareness of the choices we make in prescribing to any set of constructions — whether they are architectural, environmental, or societal.