2015
30 x 30"
Antique silk kimono, suede.
In the mid 90's my father traveled to the Russian Far East and Japan as a consultant for overseas development. He brought me back antique kimonos from Tokyo's Ginza district, found in this piee.

Growing up in two languages increased my sensitivity to small phrases. One of these being 'necessity is the mother of all invention' which became particularly poignant to me having such an intimate relationship to my mother growing up. My parents came here with two suitcases, two children, an unwieldy German sewing machine and two preciously guarded type writers. One machine created garments, the other words. They became symbols of creation and repair.

2017
14 x 18"

"Old longing nomadic leap. Chafing at custom's chain, again, from its brutal sleep wakens the feral strain" Call of the Wild. When my father chose Seattle, all he knew of it were from the stories of Jack London.

11 x 11"
2014
This piece is a pair of Soviet stockings sewn and stretched over the bars. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, stocking were a coveted luxury item like oranges, the desired object at the end of hours of waiting in lines. Now, they are available in Russian Grocery stores, clearly as much a necessity as pickles or herring.

2017
14 x 18"
tissue, stockings, ribbon, lace

2016
24 x 24"
hand dyed silk and rope

14 x 14"
2014
In a converted hotel called the Maloy, I spent many Sunday afternoons, brooding and drawing, playing video games with my older brother, eleven years my senior. I don't think it exists any longer, having since been replaced with dozens of new street lights, multiple Starbucks and an antiseptic sensibility, eradicating any memory of the 1980's. I remember being outside a brick facade and my brother is standing in a wool sweater with earth toned geometric weave.

2013
48 x 48"
A window is a portal to the outside world. In large cities like Moscow or New York, I have walked down countless city streets, staring up through the windows of anonymous citizens, wondering what their home life looks like. The window frames the story inside. Perhaps they have stared down at me through those same windows. From the remnants of old curtains from our first apartment, I have created makeshift windows over these stretcher bars.

2013
18 x 48"
My mothers workout clothing from our first years in America in the late 80's.