ANDY DAHL

Andy Dahl, born in West Covina, California grew up in the small Southern Californian town of Hemet. There he was raised with an older sister by an aspiring blue-collar family. His mother was an elementary school teacher, and his father a utilities worker and hobby farmer. Here, tending to the cows and sheep as well as plowing the field was part of daily life. After high school Andy left to study studio art and education at Humboldt State University in the remote Northern Californian town of Arcata where he experimented with such diverse mediums as metal sculpture and foundry techniques to printmaking and ceramics finally focusing advanced studies in painting.

After completing his studies and making several brief visits to various regions of Mexico he balanced numerous odd jobs before taking the larger leap to South America.Andy worked with youth in the poor neighborhoods of the capital of Paraguay for over 3 years with the Peace Corps. He coordinated efforts with youth in these marginalized barrios in community centers, schools and with various non-profit organizations. Andy gained many life-changing experiences (not to mention 2 languages) that would profoundly affect him and his painting. These revelations spawned several exhibitions in Asunción highlighting moments that range from the traumatic to the inspirational portraying local Paraguayan individuals and their struggle to progress in the second poorest but culturally rich, and yet very hidden country in South America.

Andy’s artistic and social interests have also taken him to Bolivia where he completed a 7-month project called Personal Development through the Arts sponsored by a grant through U.S. Embassy focused on youth in both Santa Cruz and El Alto. After political unrest forced his evacuation he returned to the U.S. where he is currently teaching at an urban high school New Orleans.

My paintings are on the one hand reflective expressions of the life I lead, and on the other, formal explorations in paint. Living an important life and doing so passionately is how I find the drive (and maybe necessity) to create. It is my sincere mission to live my short life with meaning, and thus human interactions are the main focus of my attention. Friends, family, community and my students are what fulfill my existence. However, an apparent dichotomy occurs where from there I retract to a solitary state of production. Through a lengthy laborious process I design, construct, sketch and paint all of my multi-canvas works. What I refer to as “my true creative moment” where paint actually touches canvas lasts only a short time. My subjects are generally people that I know (some more intimately than others) and so my formal obsessions with color, form, balance, temperature, expression, etc. are fueled by this connection. Often they serve as a tribute to those individuals or humanity in general, but sometimes as undisclosed commentaries on the nature of our relationship. In the end my paintings are a reason for a coming together of people from diverse situations, and the facilitation of that experience motivates my entire process.

- Andy Dahl