Daisy Patton is a multi-disciplinary artist who was born in Los Angeles, CA to a white mother from the American South and an Iranian father she never met. She spent her childhood between California and Oklahoma, deeply affected by conflicting cultural ways of being. Influenced by collective and political histories, as well as memory and the fallibility of the body, Patton’s work explores the meaning and social conventions of families, relationship, connection, storytelling and story-carrying.
Currently residing in western Massachusetts, Patton has exhibited in solo/group shows nationally, including the CU Art Museum at the University of Colorado (museum solo), the Chautauqua Institution, Spring/Break NYC, Katonah Museum of Art, Fulginitti Pavilion at the Center for Bioethics at the Anschutz Medical Campus, among others. She has paintings held in public and private collections such as the Denver Art Museum, Fidelity Investments Art Collection, and Delta Airlines. Patton’s work has been featured in publications such as Hyperallergic, The Jealous Curator, The Denver Post, The Chautauquan Daily, The Seattle Met, and more. Minerva Projects Press has published Broken Time Machines: Daisy Patton, a book with essays and poetry on Patton’s practice spring 2021.
Patton has completed artist residencies at Minerva Projects, Anderson Ranch, the Studios at MASS MoCA, RedLine Denver, and Eastside International in Los Angeles. She has been awarded the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grant, as well as the Assets for Artists Massachusetts Matched Savings grant and the Montage Travel Award from SMFA for research in Dresden, Germany. She earned her MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Tufts University, a multi-disciplinary program, and has a BFA in Studio Arts from the University of Oklahoma with minors in History and Art History and an Honors degree. K Contemporary represents Patton in Denver, CO, and J. Rinehart represents her in Seattle, WA.
Currently residing in western Massachusetts, Patton has exhibited in solo/group shows nationally, including the CU Art Museum at the University of Colorado (museum solo), the Chautauqua Institution, Spring/Break NYC, Katonah Museum of Art, Fulginitti Pavilion at the Center for Bioethics at the Anschutz Medical Campus, among others. She has paintings held in public and private collections such as the Denver Art Museum, Fidelity Investments Art Collection, and Delta Airlines. Patton’s work has been featured in publications such as Hyperallergic, The Jealous Curator, The Denver Post, The Chautauquan Daily, The Seattle Met, and more. Minerva Projects Press has published Broken Time Machines: Daisy Patton, a book with essays and poetry on Patton’s practice spring 2021.
Patton has completed artist residencies at Minerva Projects, Anderson Ranch, the Studios at MASS MoCA, RedLine Denver, and Eastside International in Los Angeles. She has been awarded the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grant, as well as the Assets for Artists Massachusetts Matched Savings grant and the Montage Travel Award from SMFA for research in Dresden, Germany. She earned her MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Tufts University, a multi-disciplinary program, and has a BFA in Studio Arts from the University of Oklahoma with minors in History and Art History and an Honors degree. K Contemporary represents Patton in Denver, CO, and J. Rinehart represents her in Seattle, WA.
Published on May 19th, 2022. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
I am in the midst of completing a body of work around the family portrait for a solo at my Denver gallery. It's allowed me to stretch more, visually and physically, than I have in the past and it has been really wonderful. I've also been getting several ideas to experiment and push how the work is made and displayed, though at the moment that is on hold until I get a new studio. I have no end to material to work on for the “Forgetting is so long” series and plan to dip back into other bodies of work once I have capacity.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
This year has been one of huge health challenges, including spinal surgery that has kept me from painting for weeks. Those health issues, non-COVID and not MS related, have significantly interfered in all my work, administrative and otherwise. While this year has been financially much better than last year, my studio has shown definite signs of strain. I have very much outgrown the workspace and am looking for another that would allow me to experiment and make the work I've been thinking about for the last year or so. As someone who is disabled and immunocompromised, the pandemic has not ended for me in any way. While I am vaccinated, I cannot count on the full protection others have, which has vastly limited what I am able to do—as in, I have been still stuck mostly at home. I had a visiting artist lecture rescinded after I asked about switching to virtual if cases rose, and the desire from others to pretend things are "normal" means the disabled, immunocompromised, and children up until now have been left behind. That said, I have been able to make a few limited trips to see art in person again, which has been very fulfilling.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
My sleep schedule has been stubbornly set to very late nights, so when I was painting, it was typically after 10pm and until 3 or 4am. Sometimes I was able to sneak in for a brief afternoon session, but fitting in daily hikes (for health and sanity), admin work, and other life circumstances simply made that more difficult. Once I'm in studio, it's a very productive, flow period of time that has been rewarding. Because I am no longer behind in exhibitions, I've been able to work ahead, which allows me to be a bit slower and less stressed. I still listen to a ridiculous amount of podcasts (60+) and music while working, and sometimes am able to fit in a phone call or two as well. My studio space is the same as last year but has become incredibly cramped since I am storing all the work I've finished until I can ship it next year, in addition to new panels coming in. It is quickly becoming untenable and why I am on the hunt for a larger space!
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
I perennially recommend Sharon Louden's great books, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life and The Artist as Cultural Producer. They are both full of perspectives from other artists/makers who have navigated different periods of their careers, and these essays show the ebb and flow of being an artist and the various ways we try to make a living. Additionally, Amy Elaine Smith does workshops and goes into a lot of financial literacy for artist, as does Artists U (through Andrew Simonet) that goes into helping make longer-term plans financially and otherwise.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
Next year (2022), I'm really excited about several upcoming shows. The first is "Remembrances, Recollections, and Retrospect" curated by Chase Dougherty at The Delaware Contemporary, Jan. 22-May 30, 2022. Six artists including myself will be featured, and I will have three paintings as part of the exhibition. The next exhibition I'm very looking forward to is "Uncovered Spaces," a group show curated by Raheleh Filsoofi at the International Museum of Art and Science. The exhibition will run from Mar. 26 to Jul. 9, 2022 and features several artists whose work I adore, including Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Wendy Red Star, and Erika Diamond, among many others. Finally, I have two gallery exhibitions—the first is in September at my Denver gallery, K Contemporary. My solo, tentatively titled "Like Two Drops of Water/Like Oil and Vinegar," will explore the family portrait. I will also have a local exhibition at Pulp in Holyoke, MA in November that I'm still in the planning stages for. Finally, my hope and goal is a new, more functional studio! We shall see how that goes.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
I am in the midst of completing a body of work around the family portrait for a solo at my Denver gallery. It's allowed me to stretch more, visually and physically, than I have in the past and it has been really wonderful. I've also been getting several ideas to experiment and push how the work is made and displayed, though at the moment that is on hold until I get a new studio. I have no end to material to work on for the “Forgetting is so long” series and plan to dip back into other bodies of work once I have capacity.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
This year has been one of huge health challenges, including spinal surgery that has kept me from painting for weeks. Those health issues, non-COVID and not MS related, have significantly interfered in all my work, administrative and otherwise. While this year has been financially much better than last year, my studio has shown definite signs of strain. I have very much outgrown the workspace and am looking for another that would allow me to experiment and make the work I've been thinking about for the last year or so. As someone who is disabled and immunocompromised, the pandemic has not ended for me in any way. While I am vaccinated, I cannot count on the full protection others have, which has vastly limited what I am able to do—as in, I have been still stuck mostly at home. I had a visiting artist lecture rescinded after I asked about switching to virtual if cases rose, and the desire from others to pretend things are "normal" means the disabled, immunocompromised, and children up until now have been left behind. That said, I have been able to make a few limited trips to see art in person again, which has been very fulfilling.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
My sleep schedule has been stubbornly set to very late nights, so when I was painting, it was typically after 10pm and until 3 or 4am. Sometimes I was able to sneak in for a brief afternoon session, but fitting in daily hikes (for health and sanity), admin work, and other life circumstances simply made that more difficult. Once I'm in studio, it's a very productive, flow period of time that has been rewarding. Because I am no longer behind in exhibitions, I've been able to work ahead, which allows me to be a bit slower and less stressed. I still listen to a ridiculous amount of podcasts (60+) and music while working, and sometimes am able to fit in a phone call or two as well. My studio space is the same as last year but has become incredibly cramped since I am storing all the work I've finished until I can ship it next year, in addition to new panels coming in. It is quickly becoming untenable and why I am on the hunt for a larger space!
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
I perennially recommend Sharon Louden's great books, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life and The Artist as Cultural Producer. They are both full of perspectives from other artists/makers who have navigated different periods of their careers, and these essays show the ebb and flow of being an artist and the various ways we try to make a living. Additionally, Amy Elaine Smith does workshops and goes into a lot of financial literacy for artist, as does Artists U (through Andrew Simonet) that goes into helping make longer-term plans financially and otherwise.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
Next year (2022), I'm really excited about several upcoming shows. The first is "Remembrances, Recollections, and Retrospect" curated by Chase Dougherty at The Delaware Contemporary, Jan. 22-May 30, 2022. Six artists including myself will be featured, and I will have three paintings as part of the exhibition. The next exhibition I'm very looking forward to is "Uncovered Spaces," a group show curated by Raheleh Filsoofi at the International Museum of Art and Science. The exhibition will run from Mar. 26 to Jul. 9, 2022 and features several artists whose work I adore, including Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Wendy Red Star, and Erika Diamond, among many others. Finally, I have two gallery exhibitions—the first is in September at my Denver gallery, K Contemporary. My solo, tentatively titled "Like Two Drops of Water/Like Oil and Vinegar," will explore the family portrait. I will also have a local exhibition at Pulp in Holyoke, MA in November that I'm still in the planning stages for. Finally, my hope and goal is a new, more functional studio! We shall see how that goes.
Find Daisy Patton on Instagram