Biography
Dana is a visual artist, painting expressive botanicals with bright colors and small details being hallmarks of her style, she creates with the intention to bring joy, to heal and to connect.
Dana is a first generation Filipino-American, whose perspective has been shaped by the paradox of existing in both of these worlds. From a young age, Dana had planned to move away from her small hometown in Washington State to the big city, and in 2005 moved to New York for her undergrad education. She holds an AAS in Exhibition Design and a BFA in Packaging Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She lived in NYC for 13 years, working as a multi-disciplinary designer. Her work has crossed over a wide range of professions in the visual world; working with luxury brands throughout her career, from installing windows, designing store displays and product merchandising for Tiffany and Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship stores, to packaging and graphic design for Starbucks. Dana’s broad professional background has influenced her emphasis on detailed presentation and has guided her in approaching her art as a career.
Since 2017, her visual language has become more defined through her paintings. In 2019, Dana did a month long artist residency in Costa Rica with the Mauser Foundation. Moved and inspired by the connection people were having with her vibrant florals and lush landscapes, she began selling her work online in 2020 and has garnered collectors around the world. In the fall of 2021, she left her day job and began pursuing her art full-time. In 2022, Dana started exhibiting her work with The Other Art Fair and has been included in their Los Angeles and Dallas editions, and will join the Brooklyn edition in the spring of 2024. Her work has been featured in several art publications, most recently in Create! Magazine’s issue 36, released in the spring of 2023, followed by an interview with the Art and Cocktails Podcast, published September 5, 2023. She was unanimously juried into the Santa Fe Gallery Association's 2023 Artist Catalog. Dana is currently creating work from her home studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Statement
My work explores imaginary landscapes and botanical scenes as a place of sanctuary, meditation and growth.
These worlds represent the beauty that thrives wild and borderless on the other side of fear and trauma. Using flowers as expression for joy, harmony and connection; forms of petals and leaves erupt from the earth, merging as a symphony of color, singing hope and possibility. The dense greenery and abundant pockets of whimsical flora avow exponential growth and limitless bounds. Painted intuitively, a universal land is created, where familiar shapes and formations resonate and offer healing. Respite is provided and we can examine deep within ourselves to dream of tomorrow and the reclaiming of our temporary paradise. This fantastical plane, unites us with the oneness of nature and our interconnectedness within the greater universe.
CV
2024- The Other Art Fair, Brooklyn Spring Edition. (Future Exhibition)
2023- Artist Feature with The Other Art Fair, Hyperallergic.
2023- The Other Art Fair, LA Fall Edition.
2023- Interview, Art and Cocktails Podcast. Listen here.
2023- Artist Feature, Create! Magazine, Issue 36.
2023- Artist Catalog, Santa Fe Gallery Association.
2023- The Other Art Fair, Dallas Spring Edition.
2023- Artist Feature, Elements of Art Catalog, Saatchi Art.
2022- Artist Member in the Spotlight, The No Such Thing As Too Much Art Society, The Jealous Curator.
2022- Artist Feature, Art Seen Magazine, Winter Issue.
2022- The Other Art Fair, LA Fall Edition.
2021- Artist Feature, Candyfloss Magazine.
2021- Curated Directory Selection, All She Makes.
2019- Artist Residency, Mauser Foundation. Costa Rica.