Damien

Certified Tutor

I'm an Adjunct Professor of Art. I attended Chattanooga State and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where I graduated with a BFA in painting in 2005. I received my MFA at New York City's School of Visual Arts in 2007, then worked in NY's artworld for 7 years as an assistant and art handler between 2007 and 2014. More centrally, I have 20 years of studio practice as a painter, photographer, installation artist and video artist. In 2010, I founded and organized a NYC based gallery focused on rethinking the way galleries function.

In Knoxville our painting program was rooted in the question: What do you paint after conceptual art and minimalism? Artists and galleries I worked for after graduate school at SVA helped shape my own work and deepened and extended my viewpoints on both art and the context in which it is made and received by viewers.

My experience with teaching has been greatly enriching to my studio practice as well as the development of my teaching philosophy. Whether working with young children or more advanced students, I seek to avoid imposing a singular point of view while nevertheless insisting on the seriousness of art and its inescapable ties to art history. Students gain immeasurably from exposure not only to the work of artists in galleries and museums but also to the currents of thought expressed through critical writing and more informal lecturing on art. These are vital strands in building a student's comprehension of contemporary art and to finding their own voice.

My teaching experience has been diverse and has reflected my concern with the professional development of an artist as well as with an artist's engagement with the world. When I was an undergraduate student I taught painting to children between 5 and 12 years old. In 2013 I lectured on social justice as visiting faculty at a high school in Guadalajara, Mexico. More recently, I've taught private art lessons focused on painting, drawing and on helping students broaden their understanding of what their art is capable of expressing. I try to help my students draw connections between their work and the great diversity of art; also, crucially, I try to help them develop their work by engagement with the social world. My own experience with community organizing informs this approach.