When I first spoke to Daena Title in late 2010, it was about a series of oil on canvas paintings and photographs from her “Drown the Dolls†series which showed the iconic doll in various, usually tortuous watery scenarios. The Barbie works made up her first solo exhibition at Culver City’s Koplin Del Rio gallery, located at 6031 Washington Blvd in Culver City. As Title said then, “the image of this smiling woman looking happy and pretty in every situation at all costs evokes powerful emotions.â€
Title’s works in the Koplin Del Rio Gallery 30th anniversary group show, “Self-Possessed: Examining Identity in the 21st Century” which runs at the gallery October 27, 2012 – December 8, 2012 focus on another iconic female image: the beauty pageant. When I asked how Title went from Barbie dolls to beauty pageants she said, “… it’s a continuation of my obsession with the relationship of women, beauty, role models and how women are valued in our society.â€
The native New Yorker who has exhibited her work since 1998 and has had solo exhibitions at LA Contemporary, Edgemar Gallery and throughout the country was also excited to challenge herself artistically while stretching herself professionally. “After the placid Barbies, the idea of capturing these high pitched emotional moments enticed me, and conveying them in high chroma palettes removed from those calm watery worlds I had been working in, was very exciting for me from a formal painting perspective,†added the Wellesley graduate whose work is included in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art Online Feminist Art base and is collected by scores throughout the country.
“I love the way the heightened color enhances the heightened emotion,†Title concluded when discussing her new work which combin
es passion, technical excellence and about which viewers are likely to be as enthused as the artist herself.
For more information about Title: www.daenatitle.com
For more information about the group show: www.koplindelrio.com
