Daniela flint: Gardens of the affluent
November 11 - December 16, 2023
Press Release
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Ro2 Art is proud to present Gardens of the Affluent, an exhibition of new work by Dallas-based artist Daniela Flint. The exhibition will open November 11 and remain on view through December 16, 2023, at Ro2 Art Projects located at 1501 S. Ervay St., Dallas, TX, with an opening reception to be held November 11 from 7-10pm. This will be the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.
A dual citizen of Brazil and the United States, Daniela Flint approaches her work through the rarefied lens of the “other” and the “insider.” Through her visual vocabulary, Flint presents four conceptual notions of value: emotional connection, established fiscal worth, decorative value, and utilitarian benefit. In Garden of the Affluent, Flint interrogates these four constructs and their intersection with our personal preferences and the emotional connections that inform them—whether we know it or not. The result is a provocative collection of paintings marked by motifs from Brazilian and American popular culture that challenge notions of perceived value versus commercial value; true emotional connections versus manufactured connections; and the decorative versus the utilitarian in functionality. Flint further builds on the concept of the commodification of “fine art” as she deftly infuses her work with personal symbolism reminiscent of 16th-century Dutch still life paintings. Throughout Gardens of the Affluent, the viewer is compelled to confront their own perceptions of what constitutes art, reality, and what is it all worth anyway? |
artist Statement
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My studio practice studies how our perception of value is developed and manipulated by outside influences. I theorize there are four conceptual notions of value; emotional connection, established fiscal worth, decorative value and utilitarian benefit. An individual's personal preference also affects their perception of value. I further my practice by studying how images and motifs from my psyche affect my personal perception of value. Stemming from the baroque period, the genre of art known as still life painting began in the Netherlands during the 16th century. This period, and the Dutch Golden Age, is of great interest to me as a painter. Painters were interested in the use of floral still lifes to depict symbolic themes of vanity, specifically using the motif of tulips to reference the historic “Tulip-Mania” economic crisis. My paintings reference baroque still life to continue my conversation on value.
Traditionally, these paintings were a commentary on the collector's personal wealth . I manipulate these well known historical motifs to push my concepts and to further study how the perception of value can be manipulated. Value varies from a person’s perspective and lived experience. As a dual citizen, my work utilizes motifs from Brazilian and American culture to further express my feelings of perceived value based on emotional connection. By inserting items that hold personal emotional value, I am showing the viewer that these items and motifs have the same value as the objects in the original still life paintings of the 16th century. My vases are an example of my work juxtaposing decorative value with utilitarian benefit . I create vases that have their utilitarian function removed. I choose the medium of paper mache because of its delicate qualities. If the viewer were to use the vase for its intended function, the water and contents would destroy it. The utilitarian value of the object is therefore dismissed, leaving the vases to rely solely on their decorative value. |
About the Artist
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Daniela Andriana De Rodrigues Flint is a multi-disciplinary artist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to an American mother and Brazilian father. She received her bachelor's degree in painting from Maine College of Art. Her practice challenges the viewer to compare the emotional, fiscal, decorative, and utilitarian worth of an object. Daniela continues her practice in Dallas, Texas.
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