“every child is an artist. the problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up.”
— Picasso
“ An impactful moment in my childhood that directly affected the development of me as an artist takes place in kindergarten. An assignment given was to draw the home we will live in as an adult. My drawing was not much different than any other student’s drawing at that time, it had the classic square shape, two rectangle windows, and a tree with a swing. except, for one thing, my home had a grand round roof.
Disarmingly, I was loudly scolded by the girl next to me. “Homes don’t have round roofs!” she yelled out to the class. For me this was impactful, as an extremely shy child I hated to be the focus of attention in any way.
With hot embarrassment running down my neck and tears quickly to my eyes, I sputtered out “A roof could be any shape and a home can be whatever you want.”
While this moment was just the smallest pebble on a sometimes treacherous road of life, I feel that it strongly left a wonderful imprint on me and my view of art. I am forever changed by that child’s mindless comment.”
Dana Peska currently resides in sunny Tampa, Florida with her son Onyx, daughter Aurora and forever life partner Anson.
Spending her days diligently working at her craft (and challenging herself to be less shy) she is kept company now, by the memory of their sweet, lazy boxer-mix Jude.
Inspired by the legacy of suffering, Peska reflects upon America’s identity and history. Fusing art and history, light and shadow with oil on canvas and three-dimensional, fully immersive experiences, Peska engages the complex events of history and the ancestral epics of inequality and injustice, grappling with the impact on today’s world. Her boundless repertoire of imagery is paralleled only by the breadth of media palpable in the short history of her work.
Peska’s oeuvre encompasses paintings, installations, illustrations, and various works on paper such as drawings and watercolors. The physical elements of her practice—from paint, concrete, and canvas to textiles and dried plants—are as symbolically resonant as they are vast-ranging. By integrating, expanding, and regenerating imagery and techniques, she brings to light the importance of the shadows of American history in our daily life.
Peska’s work has been shown and purchased by private collectors across the United States. Her work has been shown at Creighton Block Gallery, Courtney Collins Gallery Big Sky, Mont. You can currently see her art displayed for purchase at Thrive DTSB St. Petersburg FL, and Hyde House Tampa, FL.
-Kaitlyn Barrios