I’ve been painting a series inspired by two chartreuse chairs that have followed my husband and me through more than twenty years of life. They’ve been gathering places during renovations and chaos, places for friends and conversation—and favorite sleeping spots for our cats. My paintings are colorful and wonky, but ultimately the chairs have become a symbol of something I think we all need: a place to sit, be present, and make room for one another.

My paintings play with this tension between structure and freedom. There are definite black lines and boundaries, but inside those lines the colors are pretty wild—and even the shapes themselves are a little wonky. That feels connected to what the chairs mean to me: they represent a safe place, but not necessarily a tidy one. A place where we can show up, sit awhile, and be fully ourselves.