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DAVE POLLOT
About the Artist
Dave Pollot is a New York based artist who is known for his altered thrift art paintings. He finds unwanted artwork and adds his own touch – most often pop culture parodies – and in doing so, bridges the divide between classic and pop art.
His artwork has been displayed and found homes in galleries, businesses, and private collections in all 50 states and in over 40 countries around the globe. His work has attracted attention from the media both in the U.S. and abroad, including Business Insider, Instagram, and the SyFy Channel, and his corporate clients include SONY, Instagram, and McDonalds among others. When he’s not painting, he can be found spending time with his wife and two dogs.
From the Artist
“Painting has always been something of a hobby to me, but it wasn’t until I started repurposing thrift art in 2012 that I did it with any real consistency. The idea actually began as a joke between my wife (who loves to shop at thrift stores) and I, but it quickly evolved into an attempt to answer a question: Could I take a piece of unwanted art, and without changing its aesthetic, change its meaning by painting into it some bit of pop culture/nostalgia and make it desirable in the modern world? Since that time, I’ve also started to explore a number of more personal themes in my work. For example, using popular food items inserted into still life paintings to represent the distractions (both mental and material) that prevent us from being present and focused on where we are and what we’re doing.
Painting has now become something of an obsession for me. If I spend too much time away from my easel, I find that I start to get very restless – I like to describe it as itchy blood. As much as I’ve always loved to paint, I found that I often lost interest in whatever it was that I was working on before it was ever close to being finished. Reworking found art turned out to be the answer to this problem. Each new piece presents a new set of challenges, and learning to work in a variety of styles and master new techniques has kept my attention. It’s also an interesting challenge to develop a narrative and tell a story with a painting – the backgrounds provide the framework I use to build a story.
I’ve always loved the idea that art is deeply personal. I’m telling my own story with each piece, but every one is a little bit like a mirror, reflecting it’s meaning back to the viewer through his or her individual perception. More generally speaking however, there are a number of recurring questions and ideas that my work often deals with. I think that my body of work has challenged the idea that any one piece of artwork is without a place, especially if it can be retrofitted to reflect a more culturally relevant set of ideas. It’s also questioned the idea of who (generationally and otherwise) can claim ownership of the pop culture of a given time period – it’s sought to introduce a younger audience to older artistic styles, and a potentially older audience to a broader set of pop culture.”
Select Shows, Exhibits, Awards
Current:
'Imposters' - Solo Show - Krause Gallery, New York, NY - 2024 - Sold Out
Past (Selection):
Group Show - OA Gallery, Paris, France - Summer 2024
'Be Still, Life' - Group Show, Stolen Space Gallery, London, GB - July 2023
'One Step Back' - Featured NFT Release with Nifty Gateway - January 2023
'Emerging to Established' - Group Show, Krause Gallery, New York, NY - August, 2022
'Untamed Splendor' - Group Show, Antler Gallery, Portland, OR - February 2022
'Uncharted Waters' - Featured NFT and Original Artwork Release with Nifty Gateway - July 22, 2021
‘Passengers 2 - Wish You Were Here’ – Solo Show, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA – May 2021 - Sold Out
'Uncharted Waters' - Dave Pollot x Nifty Gateway - Featured NFT and Original Artwork Release with Nifty Gateway - May 21, 2021
‘Emerging to Established’ – Group Show, Krause Gallery, New York, NY – September 2020
Designer Con - Artist - Los Angeles, CA, November 2020
‘Calorie Composition’ – Solo Show, Guy Hepner, New York, NY – September 2020
‘pink by quand les fleurs nous sauvent’ – Group Show, XFleurs, Paris, France – June/July 2020
2020 Shorty Award for Best in Arts
‘Passengers’ – Solo Show, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA – April 2020 - Sold Out
Charity Auction, Plan X, Milan/Capri, Italy – March 2020
Scope Art Fair, Miami Art Week with Imitate Modern (London, UK), Miami, FL – December 2019
Past (Cont.):
Anniversary Exhibit, Group Show, 212 Arts, New York, NY – September 2019
Game as Art, Group Show, French Paper Gallery, Paris, France – May/June 2019
All that Glisters Is Not Gold, Group Show, Laundromat Art Space, Miami, FL – May/June 2019
‘Second Chances’, Solo Show, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA – March – April 2019
Crazy 4 Cult, Group Show, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA – December 2018
Superfine! Art Fair, Miami Art Week – December 5-9th, 2018
Idiot Box, Group Show, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA – July 2018
Emerging to Established, Group Show, Krause Gallery, New York, NY – July 2018
REPLAY, Art of the Geek, Traveling Museum Exhibition
Thirty Years Later, Group Show, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA – April 2018
HUGMAN Collaboration with Nathan Sawaya and the Art Revolution Foundation, Los Angeles, CA – February 2018
Wearable Art Installation with Diamonds Unleashed, Art Miami – November 2016
Cosmic Creations, Strong National Museum of Play – August 2016
In Another Galaxy, Strong National Museum of Play – November 2015
Photoville, Instagram Exhibit: Curiouser and Curiouser: Down the Rabbit Hole with the Instagram Community, Brooklyn, NY, September 2015
POP! The Art of the Geek, Guest Curated by Nathan Sawaya, Michael J Wolf Fine Art Gallery, San Diego, CA July 2014
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