Where It All Began

It was my junior year at Endicott College, and I had just returned from studying abroad in Cork, Ireland for four months. It was the first time I had ever left the country or lived anywhere outside of Massachusetts. Ireland was magical for me—a place to connect with my heritage and explore new ways of existing. I fully immersed myself in the experience, stepping out of the comfort zone of New England’s quaint suburbs into the bustling streets of Cork. I traveled, took risks, met incredible people, and, most of all, I saw. I absorbed the landscapes, the architecture, and the different atmospheres. “Surreal” is an understatement. I went from a small town to the rowdy pubs of Ireland, the awe-inspiring Cliffs of Moher, the majestic mountains of Iceland, and the imposing architecture of Poland. It was life-changing.

One of the most unforgettable moments was in Iceland, where I saw the northern lights at 3 a.m. in a deserted field, during the coldest winter they’d had in years. The song Zombies by The Cranberries played as my friends and I trekked through the night, desperate for a glimpse. Just as we were about to give up, they appeared in the sky. I almost died that night.

I drank the finest whiskey and danced in the rain on Cork’s cobblestone streets. I took classes that introduced me to German Expressionism, which has become a major source of artistic inspiration for me. I laughed and I cried; it was one of the greatest experiences of my life—and I did it alone. One of my main reasons for taking this trip was to discover myself. While all of my friends in the art department studied abroad in Italy, I made a more spontaneous decision. I wanted a challenge, so I chose Ireland and traveled there with people I didn’t know. It was scary at first, but I adapted, made amazing memories, and forged lasting friendships.

This experience is important to explain because it shaped my mindset before I started creating one of the most impactful art series of my life. The lessons I learned during this time influenced the work, but one experience stands out above the rest: my visit to Auschwitz on Thanksgiving.

I had traveled to Poland with a friend, with the sole goal of visiting Auschwitz. The timing happened to coincide with Thanksgiving. Seeing the camp was something I had always wanted to do, though I was ignorant of the true horrors that existed there. I grew up with a history-buff father, and World War II was a common topic in our household. As a child, I developed a deep understanding of humanity’s capacity for violence. But nothing could have prepared me for the emotional impact of entering Auschwitz.

The camp felt smaller than I had imagined, but its impact was anything but small. The moment I walked under the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei sign (Work Sets You Free), a heaviness settled in my chest. Goosebumps covered my skin, and my instincts seemed to recognize the lingering pain and fear within the camp’s walls. It was a place of unimaginable sorrow, and everyone there was silent—a collective, unspoken understanding of the gravity of the place. The experience left a mark on me, one that I’ll carry for the rest of my life. I’m grateful for the opportunity, but I went in ignorant and left profoundly aware. I won’t delve into the details of what I saw, but I truly believe it’s an experience everyone should have at least once in their life. As the first quote entering the museum so eloquently states: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana.

Up until this point in my life, I had been influenced by many artists. When I was 16, I got my first smartphone and downloaded Instagram. Art was my main interest, so my feed quickly filled with artists. It was during this time that I discovered surrealism. I didn’t know the term for it at first, but my feed exposed me to artists who practiced this style, and I began to appreciate their work. Sadly, I can’t remember all their names, but I thank them in spirit for their influence.

One artist who had a major impact on me was Wayne Barlowe, though I didn’t discover him on the internet. My high school art teacher introduced me to his work, and I was blown away by his surreal creatures. Barlowe taught me that there are no bounds in the creative world, and his work deeply inspired me. I would love to meet him one day.

Another significant influence was Zdzisław Beksiński, a Polish artist whose nightmarish works inspired my thesis—though that’s a story for another time. His art continues to inspire me today. However, there is one specific artist and artwork that directly inspired this series: Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych. I discovered this piece in college and instantly fell in love with it. It remains my favorite artwork, and it’s a dream of mine to see it in person.

Bosch’s triptych depicts the downfall of humanity through a religious lens. The first panel is titled Paradise, the second The Garden of Earthly Delights, and the third Hell. I was captivated by the way Bosch used painting to tell such a complex story. I even wrote a paper on him in my early college days, marveling at how someone from an era that celebrated hyperrealism could think so abstractly.

While I wasn’t consciously thinking about Bosch’s work when I first conceptualized this series, his influence is undeniable. It’s a goal of mine to create something as impactful as his work, and I hope to get there someday. After all, that’s why we have heroes.

Into the series

Creating this series in my early twenties was a particularly interesting experience. At that age, I was leaving behind the naïve ignorance of childhood and beginning to grow into an adult with a deeper understanding of the world around me. My eyes were opening to the inner workings of the human race, and the phrase “the human condition” began to captivate me. This term encompasses the full spectrum of human experience—the good and the bad. However, with my newfound twenty-year-old “wisdom”, I was more focused on the negative. At the time, I believed that humans were destined to fail. The state of our economy, society, and environment all seemed—and still seem—hopeless. We were given the perfect ecosystem to thrive, yet, driven by ambition and the desire to continuously improve, we were slowly destroying ourselves. A quote that resonated deeply with me came from Jurassic Park, when Ian Malcolm says, “Our scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” This perfectly captured my mindset at the time. So, when I was assigned the task of creating a series of 8 to 10 pieces, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

As an artist, narrative is extremely important to me. I love creating worlds that transport the viewer to another realm. For this series, my goal was to let the viewer see our world through a different lens. I knew right away that I wanted to paint on circular wood panels, and I wanted them to be large—big enough to immerse the viewer in each piece. A constant in my life is that when I’m passionate about something, especially art, I give it everything I have. In this case, “giving it my all” was an understatement. It consumed me. It was all I did, all I thought about—it took over my entire semester. And I say this in the best possible way, because that is my favorite state of being as an artist.

The paintings were so large and detailed that my professor, seeing how ambitious I was, allowed me to complete just six paintings instead of the required eight to ten. Given the scale of my project, this was a compromise I was grateful for. It was an entire semester’s worth of work, and I poured everything into it. I was so happy during that time. I was surrounded by fellow artists, some of my greatest friends, all of whom were equally passionate about their work. We were all creating in different mediums and styles, which allowed us to share insights, offer fresh perspectives, and provide immeasurable support for each other.

This semester remains one of the most challenging and rewarding periods of my life. All I did was paint, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my friends, family, and professors. I am deeply thankful for them all. They helped me become who I am, and their encouragement and love continue to shape my journey. The dream still lives on.

Thank you for reading! I’m thrilled to share this journey with you, and I hope you’re as excited as I am to see what happens next. I will be going through all six of the ‘Fall Down’ series in detail, first part ‘Birth‘ will be released April 1st. Don’t miss out!—sign up for my newsletter to stay updated on new content and be the first to know new content is released!