Rag Time
Oil and Acrylic on paper; 18″x24”
Rag Time draws its name from the syncopated, off-beat rhythms of its compositions, reflecting both visual improvisation and a love of patchwork, mending, and quilting. Inspired by Japanese Boro, the quilts of Gee’s Bend, Amish quilts, and the vibrant palette of Iranian Nomadic art, the series celebrates the interplay of order and spontaneity, human touch, and the joyful energy of color.
At its core, Rag Time explores the relationship between parts and whole. Each painting is a composition of discrete elements, echoing the essence of abstraction—distilling complexity into fundamental forms, rhythms, and harmonies. Geometry, line, shape, and proportion provide an underlying structure, while improvisatory arrangements invite viewers to perceive new relationships, creating a visual music of piece and totality.
These works probe the boundaries of abstraction: how order and chaos coexist, how minimalism can emerge from formal or substantial reduction, and how visual elements can resonate like notes in music—sometimes harmonious, sometimes discordant, yet always expressive. Rag Time is a meditation on the tension between structure and spontaneity, materiality and essence, inviting reflection on the human hand, intuition, and the poetic possibilities of abstraction.