This body of work called Private Versaille began as an exploration of the relationship between art and nature in the urban environments of Southern California, but over time it revealed itself as a kind of complicated love letter to the city. The three paintings—Chateau Lisa, Chateau Beth, and Hebe—each depict sites in and around Long Beach, CA where grand, classical references are layered onto modest architecture. The “Chateaus” are sister apartment complexes facing each other, styled with faux-European flair and marked by plaster-cast Greek sculptures. Hebe, in the neighboring town, shows the goddess standing quietly in front of a small and dated 1950s beach apartment complex, which I endearingly call "dingbats". These juxtapositions of ancient ideals and contemporary kitsch reveals the peculiarity of Southern California: charming from a far, but somewhat absurd up close.

 

Rather than a critique, this work aims to reflect on the culture of embellishment—our innate impulse to elevate the everyday through references to beauty, antiquity, and possibility. There’s a certain poetry to it. The tension between aspiration and reality, between permanence and impermanence. As with much of my practice, it's honing in on what’s easily overlooked—the quiet gestures people make to transform their surroundings. These paintings illuminate the longing, illusion, and the deeply human desire to make something grand out of something ordinary. A story around why we beautify and enhance our space. To create our own sanctuary in our dystopian reality. Our own Private Versailles.

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