A few years ago I discovered that most museums offer the ability to download and use photos of their many artworks. Each of these artworks are in the public domain and can be used without any restrictions, except that some museums require attribution for the museum. I then began exploring and experimenting with this idea. The artworks in this series are the result of that exploration.

After Image is a series of contemporary abstract portraits created from public domain artworks sourced from museum collections. Each piece begins with a historical image and is transformed through digital and AI-assisted processes, along with generative interventions that reshape the original structure. These works do not attempt to reproduce the source but to engage it, treating artistic lineage as a visible and intentional part of the process.

The selection of each source image is both intuitive and deliberate. Works are chosen for qualities such as gesture, posture, tension, or stillness—elements that suggest potential for transformation. When an image resists reinterpretation, it is set aside; when it offers a natural continuity, it becomes part of the series. This dialogue between past and present shapes the coherence of the work.

Each finished piece is presented alongside its source, with clear attribution to the originating museum collection. This transparency is central to the project. The original artworks remain intact within their historical context, while these new works exist as independent objects—reimagined portraits shaped through a convergence of historical material and contemporary digital methods.

Across the series, figures are repositioned within newly constructed spatial environments defined by sharp planes and abstract surfaces. These interventions shift the portraits away from their original contexts and into a more symbolic and contemporary register. The result is a body of work that bridges historical portraiture, digital art, and generative abstraction, carrying forward the presence of the original subjects while reinterpreting them for a different time.

After Image is not an act of preservation but of transformation. By foregrounding source material and minimizing interpretation, the series invites viewers to consider how images evolve—what is retained, what is altered, and what emerges when art moves across time, medium, and technology.