Classic Ruin is inspired by my first encounter and love affair with the great city of Rome.

As soon as I stepped foot upon her worn and winding streets, I was enchanted immediately. The smell of delicious meals being prepared in bistros alongside music pouring from crowded cafes, kept me walking, almost dancing, further and further into Roma’s hold. My eyes were dazzled by almost everything in front of them. Old ruins, flashy fashion, passing Vespa’s, attractive people…

Out of all of these new experiences, I was most struck by the strong contrast between “street” art and “classic” art. Gorgeous graffiti on top of classic, almost God like, sculptures. My breath was taken away at every turn but my eyes and my heart couldn’t possibly get enough. The mixing of all these elements had me intoxicated, thirsty, and inspired.

At first it felt wrong to have these two mediums displayed next to each-other but as I thought more about it, I realized just how right it actually is. The voice and vision of creatives, generations apart, exposing their passion, their culture, and themselves a viewer at one point in time was an experience neither party may have imagined. It spoke old tongue with new slang in poetry not yet defined. It mixed mediums not yet paired and crossed class systems which were never meant to be crossed by the lords of society.

Classic Ruin is my attempt at articulating a fraction of what I experienced that fall in Rome. It's one of many works I'll need to go through to fully communicate just what I saw on those streets. It's a glimpse of the wonderful display many generations of creatives put on for me at that very moment.