These paintings use nostalgia to soothe and to question. I have a deep longing for the perceived innocence of the past, especially when reality may feel corrupt and chaotic. Living in the past—or at least in my studio—can feel like a vacation from the present, no matter how problematic the preceding decades.

The Dream Home series emerged from my studio during the darkest moments of the pandemic. I began these works in April of 2020. I was compelled to paint these interiors by the scary, claustrophobic period we are experiencing. It comforts me to live—visually at least—in a safe and easy period that never existed. These rooms were created for the fantasy. The bed was never slept in. No one cried over the phone. The food was never eaten. No one got sick. No one died. No one lived.