Dana Oldfather

Day Game
2017
oil, acrylic, spray paint on linen
60" x 48"

(b. 1978 – Cleveland, OH) Dana Oldfather creates work that “celebrates paint.” Inspired by roles of motherhood and femininity, the anxieties of everyday life, and the “fragility of comfort and happiness in America today,” Oldfather utilizes acrylic, oil, and spray paint to manufacture expansive surfaces of bold colors, blocked forms, and patterned line. She further describes her work saying, “figure, object, and landscape, spin out and smear together as the paintings shudder with a pulsing, nervous energy. I use anxious, frenetic mark making to mirror a rushing world distorted by apprehension.” 

In this painting, Oldfather presents a rural scene. A male figure exits a classic convertible parked overlooking a vast agricultural field. Inspired by Clint Eastwood’s performance in the 2012 film, “Trouble with the Curve,” Oldfather makes work that represents the people and topics of a place some near-sightedly think of as flyover country.

Oldfather’s work has been exhibited extensively, including at The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, CASS Contemporary Art Space, Tampa, FL, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, and can be found in numerous public and private collections including MGM International, Cleveland Clinic, and the University of Toledo. She was the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award (2013) and twice an honorable mention in the David Bown Semiannual Competition.

From the nominating artist: 

Click the buttons to navigate this selection sequence
TONY INGRISANO  >>>  DANA OLDFATHER  >>>  MIMI KATO  >>>  RYAN DEWEY  >>>  BRINSLEY TYRRELL

OR explore the rest of Fathom Two
   DANA OLDFATHER    JANICE LESSMAN-MOSS     GIANNA COMMITO     DARIUS STEWARD     DARICE POLO     DEXTER DAVIS