STATEMENT

​

I make paintings, drawings and objects that slyly address the trajectory of our cultural norms. Through illusion, formalism, and material I reframe perception to broadly reflect on the devolution of the middle-class and amend perceptions of the American Dream; an illusion of wealth and/or opportunity, the veneer of which has been wearing thinner and thinner amongst younger generations. My work equally contains imagery and processes of labor, craft, consumption, while hinting at their disposability. There is irony in the paintings’ use of materials and their practice, clashing in value and skill--- Linen is exposed, pointing to fine art’s hierarchy of surfaces, while paradoxically dismissing the craft of faux painting. These faux painted wall and ceilings point to the realities and fictions of commodities, class, and access. The active dismissal of labor highlights passive entitlement and ownership of space, objects, and the control they wield. The sculptures explore generic objects that are reconfigure through scale, shape, or manipulation to highlight big business branding and their influence over society. Culling references from art history, domestic spaces, Western food culture, and the entertainment industry, my work entices the viewer to consider how reality is mitigated and how craft is redefined. Surface, imitation, process, perception, and ownership are examined to more broadly discuss our current cultural climate.

​

​

EDUCATION

​

MFA, Painting - Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 2011
BFA, Painting and Drawing - Sculpture Minor - Laguna College of Art & Design, Laguna Beach, CA, Summa Cum Laude, 2007

​

​

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

​

2020
Family Style, August 6 - September 20, High Noon Gallery, New York, NY 

​

2019

Home-Ec, March 3 – 18, The Westminster Schools Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Bona Fide (2), January 21 - February 24, Azarian McCullough Art Gallery, St. Thomas Aquinas College

​

2018

Vessels, High Noon Gallery, October 11 - November 11, New York, NY

​

2017
Bona Fide, Blue House Gallery, November 11 – December 9, Dayton, OH

2016
The Present Matter, SLA307 Art Space, October 21 - November 27, New York, NY

2013-2014
Foreign Bodies (2 person exhibition with Caitlin Foley), Arcade Gallery, Marymount College, December 2 - January 25, San Pedro, CA

2010
Daina Mattis, Frances Keevil Art Gallery, May 18 - June 1, Double Bay, Sydney, Australia
The Wall, Syracuse University, April 1 - 30, Syracuse, NY

2009
Daina Mattis, Sylvia White Gallery, July 8 -August 8, Ventura, CA 

​

​

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

​

2022
Title TBA, So Mad Gallery, New York, NY (upcoming)

​

2021
The Right to Silence, Dec 2020 – May 2021, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, New York, NY 
Homemaking, April 17 - June 13, The Deering Estate, Spring, Miami, FL

 

2020
Visionaries, Oct 3 – Dec 16, Azarian McCullough Art Gallery, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkhill, NY 

 

2019
Thisness and Whatness, October 12 – February 8, 2020 Felician University, Rutherford, NJ, Curated by Scott Reeds, catalog essay by Stephen Maine
Memory Palace, March 1 – 27, Jackson Dinsdale Art Center, Hastings College, NE, Curated by Young Space

​

2018

VNO-NYC, SLA307 Art Space, December 14 - January 4, New York, NY

​

2017
Making Marks, The Hardy Gallery, September 1 – October 15, Ephraim, WI
Soft Spoken, Sara Nightingale Gallery, July 22 - August 14, Sag Harbor, NY
Soft Reboot, Proto Gallery, Curated by Rob Ventura, June 3 - July 23, Hoboken, NJ
Smart Dust, SLA307 Non-Profit Art Space, Dec 9 - Jan 7, New York, NY
Flat File Program, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Dec 2016 - Nov 2017, Brooklyn, NY

2016
Flat File: Year 4, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Dec 9 – 18, Brooklyn, NY
Išeivijos Meninikų Paroda, The Hangar Gallery South, Oct 29 - Nov 20, Santa Monica, CA
The Cooper Union Artist in Residency Exhibition, The Cooper Union, Aug 3 - 17, New York, NY
Jurors Range, The Hardy Gallery, June 17 - July 17, Ephraim, WI
Introductions, Trestle Gallery, Curated by Jim Osman, Jan 15 - Feb 19, Brooklyn, NY

2015
The Rebirth of Wonder, Bushwick Open Studios 2015, June 5 - 7, Brooklyn, NY
Moterys Apie Moteris, Lithuanian Museum of Art, March 7 - 29, Lemont, IL 
Gallery Gala 17 Invitational, Arnot Art Museum, Feb 13 - Aug 8, Elmira, NY
30th Annual Positive/Negative, Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, Feb 1 - March 15, Johnson City, TN

2014
The Way of the Flesh Part II, Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery, Sept 18 - Oct 16, Walnut, CA
ARK, Charles Allis Art Museum, Aug 1 - Sept 28, Milwaukee, WI
Art from the Boros II, Denise Bibro Fine Art, June 19 - Aug 9, New York, NY
Collector’s Choice 2014, Sylvia White Gallery, April 23 - May 24, Ventura, CA
Body Language, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Curated by George Herms, April 5 - May 17, Santa Ana, CA

2013
Creatives Rising, October 1 - 31, Long Island City, NY
Commitment and Similar Acts of Betrayal: A Contemporary Drawing Exhibit, Sarah Silberman Gallery, Feb 5 - March 1, Montgomery College, MD

2012
Art in Miami-Context, J. Cacciola Gallery, Dec 4 - 9, Miami, FL
The Other New York, The Everson Museum of Art, Sept 22 - Jan 6, 2013, Syracuse, NY
Things Are Not What They Seem, J. Cacciola Gallery, April 3 - 28, New York, NY
Represent, Think Tank Gallery, April 12 - 30, Los Angeles, CA
Re-Placed, Brooklyn Fire Proof, March 1 - 31, Brooklyn, NY
The Figure Now, BAG Gallery, Feb 11 - 24, Brooklyn, NY 
46th Annual National Drawing & Small Sculpture Show, Del Mar College, Feb 14 - May 4, 2012, Corpus Christi, TX

2011
On the Edge: Statements in Black & White, S-Cube Gallery, Nov 12 - Jan 30, Laguna Beach, CA
Fishing From the Beach, Dumbo Arts Center, Nov 12 - 26, Brooklyn, NY
De-Figuration, Lutheran Church of St. John the Evangelist, Brooklyn, NY
2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition, SU Art Galleries, Syracuse Univ., April 7 - May 15, Syracuse, NY
Ekphrasis, Mod Melange Exhibition, January, Los Angeles, CA
Kentucky National, Juried Exhibition, Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Feb 18 - March 13, Murray, KY

2010
Syracuse University Faculty Exhibition, XL Space, Syracuse, NY
Means of Connection, Lutheran Church of St. John the Evangelist, Brooklyn, NY
Meet & Greet, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY
Mod Melange Exhibition, July, Los Angeles, CA
Mod Melange Exhibition, April, Factory Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
Matrilineage Exhibition, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY
Selected Works, Frances Keevil Art Gallery, Feb 23 - March 14, Double Bay, Sydney, Australia
The Figure Now 2010 International Juried Exhibition, February, Fontbonne University Fine Arts Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Open Painting 2010 Juried Exhibition, Maxwell Mays Gallery at the Providence Art Club, Jan 17 - Feb 5, Providence, RI

2009  
Fairhaven Mausoleum Art Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, Santa Ana, CA
Graduate Painting, XL Projects, Syracuse, NY
Drawn In, Works on Paper Exhibition, Frances Keevil Art Gallery, June 26 - July 4, Sydney, Australia
Drawing, XL Projects, Syracuse, NY
Australian Lithuanian Art Exhibit, Bansktown Town Hall, Sydney, Australia
Graduate Drawing Exhibition, The Wall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
The Nude in Contemporary Art, A National Juried Exhibition, A.D. Gallery, University of North Carolina, Jan 26 - Feb 25, Pembroke, NC

2008
Sotto Voce, Fairhaven Mausoleum, Juried Exhibition, Santa Ana, CA
Feminism Rhetoric, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY
MFA Exhibition, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY
Graduate Painting Exhibition, The Wall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

2007
Capturing the Force of Stillness, Fairhaven Mausoleum, Juried Exhibition, Santa Ana, CA
Fine Arts Exhibition, 7 Degrees Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
The Romance of Prague, the Glory of Vienna, Laguna College of Art & Design, Laguna Beach, CA

​

​

AWARDS, GRANTS, RESIDENCIES

Artist in Residency at The Cooper Union School of Art, New York, NY, 2016
Nancy Jermanovich Award for Work in Drawing, Syracuse University, NY, 2011
Joan Mitchell MFA Nominee, Syracuse University, NY, 2011
Filisterės Gražinos Musteikytės Grand Scholarship, Vydunas Fund, Lemont, IL, 2011
Dorthea I. Shaffer Award, Syracuse University, NY, 2010
Jerome Solomon Memorial Scholarship, Syracuse University, NY, 2009
Best Thesis Award, Fine Arts, Laguna College of Art & Design, Laguna Beach, CA, 2007
First Place Sculpture, The Pacific Art Foundation, Laguna Beach, CA, 2007
Plotkin Award, Peter & Masha Plotkin Memorial Foundation, Lake Forest, CA, 2006
Best of Show, The Pacific Art Foundation, Laguna Beach, CA, 2006
First Place, Mixed Medium, Santa Ana Art Association, Santa Ana, CA, 2006

​

​

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

​

James and Rosemary Nix Nature Center, Laguna Beach, CA
Laguna College of Art & Design, Laguna Beach, CA 
Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA
SLA307 Non-Profit Art Space, New York, NY

​

​

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Thisness and Whatness, Exhibition Catalogue, Felician University, Essay by Stephen Maine 

"Be A Body: Shows Around New York Take Up the Materiality of Screen-Based Work,", ARTNEWS, Nov. 29, by Rahel Aima

Vessels, Exhibition Catalogue, High Noon Gallery, Essay by Tom McGlynn

"Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive 2016 Anthology," The Cooper Union, 2016
Recommended: “Introductions 2016” at Trestle, Sharon Butler, twocoatsofpaint.com, Jan 26, 2016
Fresh Paint Magazine, Dec Ed., Juror, Danielle Krysa – The Jealous Curator, 2015
"Landing a Job in Academia," Matthew Daub, Professional Artist Magazine, Aug/Sep, pg. 28 - 37, 2015
The Way of the Flesh Part II, Exhibition Catalogue, Mt. San Antonio College. Curated by Fatemeh Burnes, Essay by John Seed, Walnut, CA, 2014
"‘Unis’ at Charles Allis Museum: Unicorns Alive and Well on the East Side," Kat Murrell, shepherdexpress.com, Aug 27, 2014
Body Language, Exhibition Catalogue, Curated by George Herms, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA, 2014
Studio Visit Magazine, Volume 21, Curated by Dina Deitsch, Senior Curator of deCordova Sculpture Park & Museum, 2014
Daina Mattis, J. Cacciola Gallery, Forward by Jared Linge, New York, NY, 2014
The Other New York 2012, Exhibition Catalogue, The Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, 2012
On the Edge: Statements in Black and White, S-Cube Gallery, Exhibition Catalogue, Essay by Peter Frank, Laguna Beach, CA, 2011
Fishing From the Beach, Syracuse University Exhibition Catalogue, Introduction by David Ross, Curatorial Essay by Bard Curatorial Candidates: Janine Armin, Rachel Cook, Suzy Halajian, and Leora Morinis, 2011
"Head of the Class," The Post-Standard, Art, Page 12, Sunday, May 1, 2011, Syracuse NY
Riviera, Modern Luxury Magazine, December, pg. 20 & 74, 2010 
Kentucky National 2011 Catalogue, Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Murray, KY