Where does the need to create art come from? Artists have been struggling to identify the source of their inspiration since art began. Michelangelo believed that all creation belongs to God and it was only through God that one could create. Gothic and Renaissance art was thus made in an effort to represent heavenly perfection.
Other artists like Modigliani and Dali were motivated by passion and credited their muses for their creative processes. The focus there was on the inner workings of the human mind and spirit. Our desires, conscious and not were the driving forces behind the will to create.
The abstract artists believed art to be an expression of feeling and attempted to create works that were non-representational, something akin to music. This movement developed into a desire to elevate art above physical existence. Mondrian, for instance, viewed his work as an anticipation of the society's future.
Later, pop artists like Andy Warhol created conceptual art that was meant as a critique of this future - one where mass production and commodification ruled. This became a kind of postmodern era of criticism, turning the creative process against social forces that attempted to stifle it.
Now, art has become all sorts of things. The past traditions remain and are widely available thanks to globalization and social media. Artists from all disciplines are able to share their work and collaborate in ways that have never been possible before. Even those that have had no artistic training can now create art as a hobby and establish successful businesses.
Art is not only open to anyone, it is also a consumer product. Thanks to NFTs, it is now a digital asset too. Art is video games, it is films, it is digitally traded real estate, it's everything and nothing to everyone.
So, What's an Artist to Do?
I recall approaching a gallery owner at an art fair several years ago and asking her if I could have a spot in her upcoming exhibition.
"What kind of art do you create?" she asked me.
"Anything and everything. Tell me what you want and I'll paint it," was my response.
Of course, nothing developed from that interaction. My main problem was that I didn't have a niche. The truth about commercial success is that it relies on labels and categories. People want products that can be attributed to a specific source. They like order and they like attribution. People want to go to galleries and point at pictures, saying "This is clearly a Dali, look at the colors! Look at the background!... This is clearly a Picasso, see the blocks?" and so on.
What am I to do? I've been an artist for over 15 years and still I'm not able to find a specific direction. As soon as I develop an interest in a topic, that interest shifts to something else entirely. In comes the birth of Uncertainty.
What you will find here is work guided by a chaotic mind. I have collections and I have one-off paintings. Few are related or thematic. All are created by me for the sole purpose of personal expression. Some may be abstract, some may be expressive, some may even be realistic landscapes.
If you find a work that speaks to you - don't ask me what it means, I don't know. It means whatever you think it means. It's created in a style that you think it's created in.
The work featured on this site was made to embrace the uncertainty of the creative process. I begin and rarely know what is going to happen, and I'm fine with that. I hope you are too.