damon schindler
Damon Schindler and Dena D’Angelo will share the gallery May 4 - June 1, 2024 for their “MEANDERINGS” show. Come meet the artists May 4th for the opening of their show featuring playful paintings.
enchanting characters & lyrical imagery
Damon Schindler paints with sincerity and humor. He refers to his work as “Kindergarten Cave Paintings”. Damon is a native of and resides in Los Angeles. His great-grandfather, Emil Luks, worked as a commercial photographer in Pasadena and painted with his brother, George Luks of the “Ash Can School”.
In 1994 Damon pursued his love of art by studying at the renowned California Institute of The Arts (CalArts.) After obtaining his bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1997 he went on to share his knowledge by teaching art at an alternative high school in Los Angeles. He has spent 10 summers working with students selected for the California State Summer School for the Arts, producing individual film and video projects. Damon, who now works as resident scenic artist for the Los Angeles Opera, is constantly expanding the scope of his art and working to present his work in the public sphere.
ARTIST STATEMENT | “The Paintings”
Since 1991 I have been constantly making paintings that stem from the Surrealist and Expressionist traditions. In these canvases a world of lush electric landscapes is revealed while enchanting characters participate in the ever enduring story of life. The scenes are vibrant, radiating with color as the physical world bends and twists breathing life into a host of characters. The imagery is laid down optimistically or romantically in allegorical terms while not losing sight of the fractured structures or jagged edges that lay just beneath the candy coated surface of modern terrestrial life. The landscapes take on human and animal traits exposing a relationship between beings and their environment. In this a glance is shown of the psychic reality projected on the physical plane of our travelers. By using lyrical imagery compositions are offered that broaden and fulfill what we already or possibly have an inkling or understanding of. Similar to the constellation of stars that are already there shining for us the paintings simply provide a loosely scripted map where we are allowed to connect the dots leading us to the hidden treasure of the imagination.
EDUCATION
1997 BFA fine Arts CalArts Valencia, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 Gallery 800, Painting show, NoHo District
2017 5 Months Gallery, Group Show, San Francisco
2016 Gallery 800, Group Show, NoHo District
2008 Ghetto Gloss Gallery, Paintings, Silver Lake, CA
2005 Carthay Gallery, Paintings, Los Angeles,CA
2002 Gallery Figueroa, Paintings, Highland Park, CA
2002 Controlled Experiment, Visual, audio & performance, SCA Gallery, Pomona, CA
2001 Bella Arts Festival, Paintings, Valencia, CA
2001 Mental vs. Vegetable, Painting, sculpture & performance, Downtown Los Angeles, CA
2001 Time and Place, Painting & sculpture, Lebec, CA
2000 Blue Bird Gallery, Painting, Santa Cruz, CA
2000 Holly Matter Modern Art, Paintings, Los Angeles, CA
2000 Museum Jose Luis Cuevas, Found object/sculpture, Mexico City, Mexico
2000 Stevenson Blanch Devearux Gallery, Cal Arts, Valencia, CA
1997 L- Shaped gallery, Cal Arts, Valencia, CA
1996 Main Gallery, Painting Cal Arts, Valencia, CA
1995 A.M.O Gallery, Silver Lake, CA
1994 Mt. San Antonio C.C., Painting
1993 La Taza Café, Covina, CA
Publications
2019 Studio Visit Volume 45, Selected paintings
1998 L.A. Weekly, Picture of Performance and Huarache Stomp