By Zach Smith



When someone has the style like Dasco, one is basically forced to make him find some time to answer some questions you have. I was able to get certain things that I believe define his work: a sugar momma, shows since a teenager, and Euro women. C'est la vie, no?



I paint acrylics onto Plexiglas as the foreground. The background consists of fabric stretched over a canvas. I like to use things like pillow cases and tee shirts. I prefer that they are used. Stains are a bonus. Sandwiched between the Plexiglas and fabric typically are found paper items that are relevant to the piece as a whole. I had a friend once that would make handmade envelopes and send them to friends with letters inside. She and I would mail one another back and forth even though we lived in the same city. I incorporated one of those envelopes with the letter permanently sealed under the Plexiglas in the "Kodiak" painting. I like to use metro tickets also. I pick a lot of trash up off the ground. I've used a dark fabric in the background on a few paintings. I then paint only the mid tone and highlights onto the Plexiglas and leave gaps where the dark background will show through as shadow.



Well, even though paint is incorporated, my work really isn't "painting" in a traditional sense, even though I regard myself as a painter. I hate oils, and I don't paint directly onto a canvas. The Plexiglas is purchased at Home Depot and the fabric at thrift stores. I call them portraiture because that is just what they are. They are little mixed media wall pieces that document me or someone I know at a different point in my life.



I was born in San Diego but my father was in the navy. I moved around quite a bit and then settled in Florida when I was young. As far as being for the better, I definitely like the East coast better than the West coast.



I am really looking forward to NYC. One thing I immediately noticed when I began dealing with the art world in New York recently was how serious and professional everyone is, at least, compared to how we conduct business down here in Miami. The two cities just have an entirely different attitude. I plan on getting more done up there.



I've never exhibited in Miami. I've been talking on and off with a certain gallery I really like in The Design District. I will definitely be back here in December for Basel, exhibiting somewhere. There is an art scene here but I am not sure how authentic it is. Miami so often tries to emulate New York that I think the primary focus is sometimes lost. So often it is more about who was in attendance rather than what artist was showing just so Miami can say that it has a "scene." There are tons of great artists living and working here though.




My first show was at the age of Seventeen. I remember it being a very successful opening. It was for the students in my AP art class in high school, which was really unheard of, but our small group was really talented. I received an honorable mention for that show. I had three paintings hanging. One was not for sale, the other two sold. One sold to a fancy European woman that claimed my work evoked the spirit of her dead friend. I sold the other painting to one of the artists who had a studio at the gallery. She and another woman, both being prominent artists in Central Florida had kind of been following our art class around at our various school related exhibitions and awards shows. They made it possible for us to have the show. It was a great opportunity. I ended up selling another piece on the side.

Other than that, I've had a handful of shows. Two shows had five hundred people in attendance, but I've had a show where barely twenty people showed up… and that is including the gallery staff…

I have a sugar momma.



I had an interest in applying to the Parsons school in Paris. On the site, I noticed some of the art for the Fine Arts department that I really liked. It was from the artist and alumni Pete Nawara. I had remembered seeing his work somewhere before, did some research, and found out that he with a few others had a company called 4Bit out of London, which I had heard of, but knew nothing about. I looked into it and applied for representation. They are launching a whole new site early next month and I should be a part of that.



I typically wake up and go have a coffee. I like to sit and watch people for a while, listen to my ipod, read something. Then I'll walk back to my apartment, check the news, and begin painting. What really gets me though is when I go to a museum or an exhibit. I remember being at Scope Miami a couple of months ago and just being really hyped up. All I wanted to do was come home and start working.



I've already applied to Parsons in New York. I am still waiting to find out if I was accepted. If accepted I expect to get a huge ass student loan…



I am an upcoming artist so I don't have any advice.



Thanks for the interview.

Dasco can be reached here.