Biography
American multimedia artist Dash Snow is best known for his photographs and collages that captured the rebellious, drug-fueled lifestyle of youth living in New York City. The hedonistic lifestyle he led with his friends and fellow artists, such as Ryan McGinley, Dan Colen, and Nate Lowman, became the central theme of his artistic oeuvre. Over the course of his short but turbulent career, the artist exhibited in numerous renowned galleries around the world, including in Denmark, Germany, and the US. Today his work is part of several notable collections, such as the Zabludowicz Collection London and The Saatchi Gallery in London.
Dashiell (Dash) Snow was born in 1981 in New York City. Growing up surrounded by riches as a descendant of one of the most renowned families in the US was not without problems. His grandmother, Dominique, was one of the great patrons of art, and his grandfather John de Menil has amassed an art collection of immeasurable value, which now resides in a museum - Menil Collection and Museum. As a rebellious child, his mother decided to send him to a boarding school, Hidden Lake Academy, that specialized in treating the oppositional defiant disorder in children. What happened at the school was something Snow never discussed privately or publicly. Still, it ultimately led to him separating himself from the rest of the family and surviving on the streets.
Often people thought that Snow was a rich boy acting out. However, the only allowance he got was from his grandmother, which was enough for him to survive. In the 1990s, he got interested in graffiti and signed his work with the tag SACE or SACER.
Due to the heavy drinking and drug consumption, he began photographing so he would have a record of what had happened the previous night. At Snow's first solo show in 2005, the art critics immediately recognized the unique style of his work and compared him to the late Jean-Michel Basquiat. Always rebelling against any authority, he famously refused any advice and direction.
In 2007, with his friend artist Dan Colen, he created the installation . The work was born out of four days spent in a hotel room as guests of the Saatchi Gallery, shredding hundreds of books. For the artists, the installation was a result of a male-bonding ritual.
Without any fear, Snow had the ability to talk to even the most hardened criminals and ask to photograph them. Later he began creating collages – the most famous one was a series in which he ejaculated on the photo of Saddam Hussein and dusted it with glitter.
The Wall Street Journal published an article about Dash Snow in 2006, alongside other up-and-coming young artists, including Keegan McHargue, Ryan Trecartin, and Jordan Wolfson, to name a few. He often collaborated with Ryan McGinley, Dan Colen, and Nate Lowman. The artist had solo exhibitions at Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, Last Rivington Arms in New York, Peres Projects in Los Angeles, Pergamon Museum, and the Palais de Tokyo and participated in the 2006 Whitney Biennale. Dash Snow passed away in 2009 in New York.
Nationality