Our perceptions of existence are bound by our humanity. These limitations prevent us from comprehending the greater resonance of our actions. My art suggests an uneasy continuum between the known and unknown, as well as the controlled and controlling elements of the world that surrounds us. My sculptures and drawings abstract the glacial ice sheets, fragments, and crevasses encapsulating the increasingly ephemeral quality of nature’s assumed permanence and resilience.
The artworks, at once, seem serene in their simple lines and limited color palette, and yet unnerving because of their off-centered balance and sharp angular edges. This juxtaposition mirrors my anxiety of irreversible climate change and our global passivity. I continue to abstract the original source until there only remains a shard, an inscribed line, a vestige for contemplation of what is never known and what is lost on us all.
BIO
1973 Born in Concord, North Carolina . Currently lives and works in Austin, Texas
––––––––––
EDUCATION
2005 Completed Coursework for MA . Special Education . California State University . Los Angeles, CA
2004 Teaching Credential . Special Education . California State University . Los Angeles, CA
2000 MFA . Emphasis in Sculpture & Art Theory . University of Nevada . Las Vegas, NV
1995 BFA . Emphasis in Sculpture . Virginia Commonwealth University . School of the Arts . Richmond, VA
1995 Study Abroad . Technikon Natal [ Durban University of Technology ] . Durban, South Africa
1993-94 Study Abroad . Loughborough College of Art and Design [ Loughborough University ] . Loughborough, England
––––––––––
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 Serene Disturbances . Fort Wort Community Arts Center . Fort Worth, TX
2020 Serene Disturbances . Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts . Lubbock, TX
2018 Serene Disturbance . grayDUCK Gallery . Austin, TX
2011 Unnatural Process . Fifth Floor Gallery . Los Angeles, CA
2010 Kunstmilch Presents: Dameon Lester . Display Case Reutilization Project . California State University . Long Beach, CA
2009 The Ethnocentric Nature of Line . Irvine Valley College Art Gallery . Irvine, CA
2009 Works of Paper . Fifth Floor Gallery . Los Angeles, CA
2000 Fantastic Plastic: Shapescapes . Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art . Las Vegas, NV
1999 Fuzbreed: The Halfway Showing . Grant Hall Gallery, UNLV . Las Vegas, NV
––––––––––
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Consequence . Gallery of the Common Experience . Texas State University . San Marcos, TX
2022
A Transient Nature . Wright Gallery . Texas A & M University, School of Architecture . College Station, TX
Synaptic . SITE Gallery Houston . Silos at Sawyer Yards . Houston, TX
25th Anniversary Exhibition . Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts . Lubbock, TX
A Transient Nature . Georgetown Arts Center . Georgetown, TX
2021
Crit Group Reunion . Chapter 1: Facing the World . The Contemporary Austin . Austin, TX
2020
100-4-100 . Silent & Live Art Auction . University Galleries I + II . Texas State University . San Marcos, TX
2019
Flatfile . St. Edward’s University Fine Arts Gallery . Austin, TX
Gestalt: A New Entity . Cinnabar Gallery . San Antonio, TX . Susan Oliver Heard, Juror
Solo Show[Down] . Fort Worth Community Arts Center . Fort Worth, TX . Christina Rees, Glasstire, Juror . (catalogue)
Cardinal Kindreds . ICOSA Collective at Rosalux Gallery . Minneapolis, MN . Teréz Iacovino, Curator
25th Annual Texas National . The Cole Art Center at The Old Opera House . Nacogdoches, TX . Michelle White, The Menil Collection, Juror
2018
Chiaroscuro: probing mystery, seeking clarity . ICOSA Collective . Austin, TX . Annette DiMeo Carlozzi, Curator
International Sculpture Center's Member Exhibition . Artsy . Online Exhibition
New Texas Talent XXV . Craighead Green Gallery . Dallas, TX
Are You Doing Your Part / In Your Life? . ICOSA Collective . Austin, TX
Two Pieces Missing . SÍM Gallery . Association of Icelandic Visual Artists . Reykjavík, Iceland
Materials: Hard + Soft . Patterson-Appleton Arts Center . Denton, TX . Perry A. Price, Juror
2017
City of Austin New Year's Eve Event . Auditorium Shores . Austin, TX
Space & Displace . Studio 101 . Canopy . Austin, TX . Terri Thomas, Curator
TEMPO Convergence . East Austin Studio Tour . Edward Rendon, Sr. Park . Installation #2 . Austin, TX
Fountain . St. Edward’s University Fine Arts Gallery . Austin, TX
City of Austin’s TEMPO Public Art Exhibition . Manchaca Library . Installation #1 . Austin, TX
The Contemporary Austin’s Crit Group 2017 . grayDUCK Gallery . Austin, TX
West Austin Studio Tour . de stijl | PODIUM FOR ART . Austin, TX
DUE WEST! . Dougherty Arts Center . Austin, TX
The People's Gallery . Austin City Hall . Austin, TX
2016
Anthropocene . grayDUCK Gallery . Austin, TX
Texas Arts & Music Festival . Pop-Up Gallery . Brenham, TX
West Austin Studio Tour . Guest of Marja Spearman . Austin, TX
DUE WEST! . Dougherty Arts Center . Austin, TX
Fuzzy . Art for the People Gallery . Austin, TX
The People's Gallery . Austin City Hall . Austin, TX
2015
With Love . Fifth Floor Gallery . Los Angeles, CA
East Austin Studio Tour . Canopy . Austin, TX
Art Auction . Habitable Spaces . Kingsbury, TX
Almost Nothing . Northern-Southern . Austin, TX
Construct . CAMIBAart . Austin, TX
West Austin Studio Tour . Austin, TX
DUE WEST! . University Park . Austin, TX
Art City Austin . Austin Art Pavilion . Austin, TX
The People's Gallery . Austin City Hall . Austin, TX
2014
Art POP . Studio 8 Architects . Austin, TX
Art in Public . Austin-Bergstrom International Airport . Austin, TX
ART for CLARE . Silent Art Auction . Bergamot Station . Santa Monica, CA
West Austin Studio Tour . Austin, TX
DUE WEST! . Lincoln Village . Austin, TX
100-4-100 . Silent & Live Art Auction . University Galleries I + II . Texas State University . San Marcos, TX
2013
ART for CLARE . Silent Art Auction . Bergamot Station . Santa Monica, CA
REDUX . Desotorow Gallery . Savannah, GA
Group Hug!!! . The Flex Space at Pump Project Satellite . Austin, TX
The People's Gallery . Austin City Hall . Austin, TX
2012
ART for CLARE . Silent Art Auction . Bergamot Station . Santa Monica, CA
West Austin Studio Tour . grayDUCK Gallery . Austin, TX
I’m A Frayed Knot . Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion . Costa Mesa, CA
BIG and BRIGHT: New Work from Texas . Southwestern College Art Gallery . Chula Vista, CA
2011
Pattern Plan . grayDUCK Gallery . Austin, TX
ART for CLARE . Silent Art Auction . Bergamot Station . Santa Monica, CA
2010
ART for CLARE . Silent Art Auction . Bergamot Station . Santa Monica, CA
OsCene 2010 . Laguna Art Museum . Laguna Beach, CA . Grace Kook-Anderson, Curator
CURATE THIS! . BECA: Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art . Online Exhibition
2009
NotBig . Logsdon 1909 Gallery . Chicago, IL . Doug Stapleton, Juror
Geometric Sequence: Random or Otherwise . Caladan Gallery . Cambridge, MA
DigitalArt.LA . Los Angeles Center for Digital Art / LACDA . Los Angeles, CA . Rita Gonzalez, LACMA, Juror
MOCA FRESH! Silent Auction . The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA . Los Angeles, CA
OC Art Grant . Juried Catalog . Santa Ana, CA . Phyllis J. Lutjeans, Juror . Honorable Mention
Roll Up Long Beach . Jet Studios . Long Beach, CA
Mail Art Festival . Galeri Shah Alam . Persiaran Tasek, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
The Art of Communication . Gallery RFD . Swainsboro, GA
11th Annual Postcards From the Edge Benefit . VISUAL AIDS . New York, NY
2008
Naturally Synthetic . @space Gallery . Santa Ana, CA
2003
Vegas Baby! . Elevation Gallery . Atlanta, GA
2001
Artificial Structures . Raid Projects . Los Angeles, CA
2000
MOMA Members Show . Alumni Center & Grant Gallery, UNLV . Las Vegas, NV
Student Art Show . Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery, UNLV . Las Vegas, NV . Kim Dingle, Juror . Juror’s Merit Award
New American Talent: The Fifteenth Exhibition . TFAA . Multiple Locations, Texas . David Pagel, Juror . Juror’s Merit Award
1999
Tri-Art Show . Government Center . Las Vegas, NV
Annual Auction: Y2Khaos . Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art . Las Vegas, NV
Graduate Student Exhibition . Marjorie Barrick Museum . Las Vegas, NV
Student Art Show . Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery, UNLV . Las Vegas, NV . Ingrid Calame, Juror
MOCA Members Show . Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art . Las Vegas, NV
Unctuous Youth . ActionSpace . Los Angeles, CA . Steven Criqui, Curator
1998
Gradbag . Grant Hall Gallery, UNLV . Las Vegas, NV
The Lab . Las Vegas, NV
Subversive Souvenirs . Contemporary Arts Center Gallery . Las Vegas, NV . John DeFazio, Curator
1997
Public Installation . Northern Illinois University . DeKalb, IL
1995
Senior Exhibition . James Center . Richmond, VA
Student Juried Show . Anderson Gallery, VCU . Richmond, VA
Inaugural Exhibition . Durban Arts Center . Durban, South Africa
1994
LCAD Student Show . Loughborough, England
––––––––––
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2019 Kelly Nelson, “Members of the Texas Sculpture Group to Premiere New Work at Cinnabar Art Gallery,” San Antonio Current, August 16, 2019. sacurrent.com
2019 Christina Rees (Juror), Solo Show[Down], Show Catalogue, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, July 2019. 29-31.
2018 Scott David Gordon, Interview, Austin Art Talk Podcast, Austin, TX, Episode 45, October 6, 2018.
2018 Arts + Culture Texas Magazine, Austin, TX. October 2018. 12.
2018 Gretchen Stoeltje, “Since You Asked: ICOSA Collective’s “Are You Doing Your Part/In Your Life?”,” Sightlines, August 17, 2018. sightlines.com
2016 Austin Art Weekly, artwork photograph, Austin, TX. November 2016. Cover. artallianceaustin.org
2016 Caitlin Greenwood, “Behind the Curtain: Big Medium Hosts its Wildly Popular East Austin Studio Tour,” Arts + Culture Texas Magazine (print), November 2016. 42. Arts + Culture Texas (online), October 19, 2016. artsandculturetx.com
2015 Michael Agresta, “Almost Nothing,” Arts + Culture Texas, October 19, 2015. artsandculturetx.com
2015 Arts + Culture Texas Magazine, artwork photograph, Austin, TX. April 2015. 18.
2012 Kate Harrington, “State of the Arts,” Austin Home Magazine 7, no. 4 (Winter 2012): 75.
2011 Samantha Jorgensen, “REVIEW | Pattern Plan, grayDUCK Gallery,” NEXT | AFTER | THIS (art blog),
November 17, 2011. next-after-this.com
2011 Todd Camplin, “Pattern Plan at grayDUCK Gallery,” Mod Austin, October 2011.
2011 Hector Hernandez, “Talking to Dameon Lester,” Art Czar (art blog), September 26, 2011. artczar.wordpress.com
2011 Event Mention with artwork photograph, Glass Tire, September 24, 2011. glasstire.com
2010 Helen Pheby, PhD, Curator, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, CURATE THIS! 2010 — New Art, Publication, November 2010. 18–19.
2009 The District Weekly 3, no. 31, November 11-17, 2009, Long Beach, CA. 5, 25.
2008 Greg Stacy, “Movies, Mulch and Madness at Grand Central Art Center and @Space Gallery,” OC Weekly, November 26, 2008.
2000 David Pagel, New American Talent: The Fifteenth Exhibition, Show Catalogue, Texas Fine Arts Association, February 2000. 7, 30.
1999 Diane Bush, “Tri-Art,” The Connector, October 1999.
1998 John DeFazio, “Exercises in the Theoretically Uncollectible,” Subversive Souvenirs, Spring 1998. 28–29.
––––––––––
RECOGNITIONS
2018 Featured in Foundwork Guest Selections / Instagram . Selected by Advisor DeWitt Godfrey
2018 Selected Artist . The City of Austin’s Art in Public Places . 2018-2020 Local Pre-Qualified Artist Pool
2017 Austin Critics Table Awards Nominations for Best Group Gallery Exhibition . ANTHROPOCENE: Jonas Hart, Dameon Lester & Melissa Loop . grayDUCK Gallery
2017 Selected Artist . The City of Austin's Art in Public Places TEMPO Program
2017 Art Alliance Austin’s West Picks 2017 . Showing with Christina Coleman & Jieun Beth Kim at de stijl | PODIUM FOR ART
2017 Artist Residency Grant . Chulitna Lodge Artist-In-Residency Program
2017 Selected Artist . The Contemporary Austin's Crit Group Program
2016 Shortlisted . 2017 International Artist-in-Residence Program . Artpace
2016 Art Alliance Austin’s West Picks from Industry Experts . Fuzzy Exhibition with Susi Brister at Art for the People Gallery
2015 Shortlisted . 2016 International Artist-in-Residence Program . Artpace
2013 Shortlisted . 2014 International Artist-in-Residence Program . Artpace
2010 Artist Residency Grant . Vermont Studio Center
2009 Honorable Mention . OC Art Grant . Phyllis J. Lutjeans, Juror
2005 Apple Teaching Grant . CSULA
2000 Juror’s Merit Award . UNLV . Kim Dingle, Juror
2000 Juror’s Merit Award . TFAA . David Pagel, Juror
1998-00 Graduate Assistantship . UNLV
1997-98 Private Scholarship . UNLV
1995 Undergraduate Exchange Scholarship . VCU – Technikon Natal
1993-94 Undergraduate Exchange Scholarship . VCU – Loughborough College of Art and Design
––––––––––
COLLECTIONS
Modera Domain . Mill Creek Residential . Austin, TX
Thinktiv . Austin, TX
Various Private Collections
––––––––––
Artist TalkS & Interviews
2022 Artist Talk . A Transient Nature . Georgetown Arts Center . Georgetown, TX
2018 Interview . Austin Art Talk by Scott David Gordon . Austin, TX
2018 In Conversation: Dameon Lester & Tammie Rubin . Serene Disturbance . GrayDUCK Gallery . Austin, TX
2018 Residency Artist Talk . SÍM Gallery . Reykjavík, Iceland
2017 Artist Talk . TEMPO Convergence . Edward Rendon, Sr. Park . Austin, TX
2017 Artist Talk . TEMPO . Manchaca Library . Austin, TX
2017 Residency Artist Talk . Fish Factory / The Creative Centre . Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland
2017 Residency Artist Talk . Chulitna Lodge . Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska
2016 Artist Talk . Anthropocene . grayDUCK Gallery . Austin, TX
2015 Artist Talk . Construct . CAMIBAart . Austin, TX
––––––––––
RESIDENCIES
2018 SÍM Seljavegur Residency . Reykjavík, Iceland . June
2017 Fish Factory / The Creative Centre . Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland . August
2017 Chulitna Lodge Artist-In-Residence Program . Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska . June
2010 Vermont Studio Center . Johnson, VT . May – June
––––––––––
MEMBERSHIPS
2018-20 Texas Sculpture Group . International Sculpture Center
2018-19 ICOSA Collective . Canopy . Austin, TX
––––––––––
CURATORIAL
2016-17 de stijl | PODIUM FOR ART . Austin, TX
Co-Curated with Christina Coleman & Marja Spearman unless otherwise noted
2017 you i i i everything else . Artists Elizabeth McDonald Schwaiger & Seth Orion Schwaiger
2017 En Bola . Artists & Curatorial Collective, Los Outsiders: Michael Anthony Garciá with Lisette Chavez, Roberto Jackson Harrington with Jean-Sebastien Boncy, Hector Hernandez with Mauro C. Martinez
2017 Place to Place . Artist Larry Graeber
2016 Before I Knew You, I Missed You . Artist Tammie Rubin . Curator
2016 One / Sixth . Artists Walter Kisner, Steven Jones, Zoë Charlton, Robert Pruitt, Christina Coleman, Janaye Brown
. . .
2017 Austin Critics Table Awards Nominations
Won Best Solo Gallery Exhibition . Tammie Rubin: Before I Knew You, I Missed You
Nominated for Best Group Gallery Exhibition . One / Sixth
––––––––––
CAN BE FOUND ON
BIOGRAPHY
BIOGRAPHY
Through the use of modest materials and repetitive minimal shapes, Dameon Lester’s artwork abstractly focuses on our cause and effect with nature. Raised in rural Southwestern Virginia, his life as an artist has taken him to many parts of the U.S. and abroad—to live, study, research, work, and exhibit.
Motivated by his newest body of work, Dameon has traveled to both Alaska and Iceland multiple times in a personal search to view, listen, and document the effects of climate change as they are locally presented to him. These direct experiences that help to inform and create his art are the motivation and inspiration into the study of our own self-awareness and connectivity to the planet.