Daniel Oliva: Bernhard Goetz and C.P., 2009, 2011, oil on canvas, 12" x 16" x 0.5"

About:

I explore the dynamics of power, class, and social identity through a psychological lens. Social characters interact in a field of culture, vying for status and prestige within intersecting groups. I am interested in how we identify with characters, particularly the fifteen-minute celebrities that are so prevalent in contemporary America. I choose figures whose stories exemplify my interest in identity and friction between groups, and after extensive preliminary research I will often paint them in a purposefully simple way. The portraits of subway shooter Bernie Goetz and boxer Mike Tyson holding animals suggest multiple readings: are these paintings tender, sadistic, humorous? Their tight cropping creates an intimacy of scale that overwrites our assumptions about who or what constitutes their identity, and places us nearly in their point of view. We are in a psychic space both outside and inside them. The inclusion of animals is accurate to the subject's personal story or, in works with only animals, often a way for me to extend of my study of social dynamics through animal imagery.

Bio:

I am a Philadelphia-based artist who holds an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, Philadelphia and a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. I am a member of the NAPOLEON collective. I have exhibited at The Galleries at Moore, Goggleworks Art Center, Pentimenti Gallery, NAPOLEON, Marginal Utility, and Bridgette Mayer Gallery. Exhibitions that I have co-curated include Immigration Now at Penn State Abington and Exquisite Form: A Fiber Invitational, at Allens Lane Art Center in Philadelphia. I am an adjunct Professor at Penn State University, Abington and Drexel University, Philadelphia, and was an undergraduate instructor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

www.danieloliva.com