In the past few years that often misunderstood genre of the literary arts known simply as poetry has become a strong influence on the things I make. It started with a renewed interest in Emily Dickinson. Sadly Dickinson has become a cliche figure head in the world of poetry, the equivalent of a Klimt poster in a college dorm room. The thing is, she is actually quite an amazing writer. Reading Dickinson again for the first time in a decade opened up the genre to me in a way I never thought possible, all of the things I look for and am influenced by can be found in the words of Poe, Frost, Keats or Plath. For my current show at Perrotin Gallery I wanted to focus on the writers themselves as opposed to there words. Who are these romanticized characters known as poets? At the same time I am currently obsessing over the world of decorative arts, folding screens influenced by both asia and the french Nabis movement. While looking at popular motifs in asian screens from the 18th century I stumbled on the recurring depiction of what are known as the “36 immortal poets”, these celebrated luminaries made me consider the other side of immortality; the forgotten. I set out to paint these unknown (and invented) poets, a suite of portraits for those who may have loved to call themselves a poet but never published a word. Each portrait is accompanied by a brief description of the failed poet. “Unknown Poet # 12 (his last poem was about suicide) for example. By painting a portrait these characters words are forgotten but there image, that of an anonymous “poet” will linger.