Dash Snow

Summary

Dashiell A. Snow (July 27, 1981 – July 13, 2009) was an American artist based in New York City.[2] Snow's photographs included scenes of sex, drugs, violence, and the art world; his work often depicted the decadent lifestyle of young New York City artists and their social circle.[3]

Dash Snow
Born
Dashiell A. Snow

(1981-07-27)July 27, 1981[1]
DiedJuly 13, 2009(2009-07-13) (aged 27)
New York City, U.S.
Known for
Spouse
(m. 2000, divorced)
Children1

Early life and education edit

Dashiell A. Snow was born July 27, 1981, to Taya Thurman and Christopher Snow. He grew up on the Upper West Side in New York City.[4] Snow and his siblings, Maxwell and Caroline, are descendants of the de Menil family, who are known for their philanthropy and collection of American art.

At thirteen, he was sent to Hidden Lake Academy, a residential treatment center specializing in the treatment of children with oppositional defiant disorder.[1][5]

Career edit

As a teenager, Snow began taking photographs to document the places he might not remember the next day.[6] In the 1990s, he was a member of the IRAK graffiti crew; the name of the group was meant to reference shoplifting, or otherwise called, racking.[7] In order to sign his work, Snow used the tag "SACE" or "SACER".[3][7]

His first solo photography exhibition took place in 2005.

In 2006, The Wall Street Journal profiled Snow and nine other emerging American artists, including Rosson Crow, Ryan Trecartin, Zane Lewis, Barney Kulok, Jordan Wolfson, and Keegan McHargue.[8] The same year he was included in the Whitney Biennial.[4]

In 2007, Snow and Dan Colen co-created an installation of shredded phone books in Jeffrey Deitch's SoHo gallery; the exhibit was named “Nest” or “Hamster Nest”.[4][9]

In his later collage-based work, Snow used his semen as a material applied to or splashed across newspaper photographs of police officers and/or other authority figures.[3]

Family and personal life edit

Snow's parents were Christopher Snow and Taya Thurman. His maternal grandparents were Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, the father of actress Uma Thurman, and artist Marie-Christophe de Menil.[10] He was the great-grandson of John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, the founders of the Menil Collection and Museum located in Houston, Texas.[11]

At the age of 18, Snow married Corsican artist Agathe Aparru Snow; the couple later divorced.[12]

In July 2007, his partner, Jade Berreau, gave birth to the couple's daughter, Secret Midnight Magic Nico.[10]

Death and legacy edit

On July 13, 2009, Snow died of a drug overdose while a guest of Lafayette House in New York City. He was 27 years old.[2][13]

In 2016, his family sued McDonald's after they refused to remove the tag "SACE" from the graffiti-themed interior design used in some European and Asian restaurants; the case was later dismissed.[14][15]

A documentary film about Snow, Moments Like This Never Last, was released in 2020.[16]

Publications edit

  • Slime The Boogie. Berlin/Los Angeles: Peres Projects, 2007.
  • Gang bang at ground zero. New York City: self-published, 2007. Zine. Produced in collaboration with Christopher Snow.
  • You Can't Drink It If It's Frozen: the Dash Snow Purple Book. 2007. Olivier Zahm, Purple Fashion Magazine, and Janvier, 2007.
  • The End of Living, the Beginning of Survival. Berlin: Contemporary Fine Arts, 2007. ISBN 978-3931355425.
  • I'd rather drink muddy water, and sleep in a hollow log. Self-published / Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin, 2007. OCLC 935823668. Includes "Skeletal love" by Raina Hammer.
  • God Spoiled a Perfect Asshole When He Put Teeth in Yer Mouth. Berlin/Los Angeles: Peres Projects Holdings, 2007. ISBN 978-0977881994. Published on the occasion of an exhibition at Peres Projects, Los Angeles.
  • Nest. New York City: Deitch Projects, 2008. With Dan Colen. ISBN 978-0977868698. Published on the occasion of an exhibition at Deitch Projects, New York City, 2007.
  • In the Softest Grey Petals of the Bomb, Lay Your Finger Across my Lips. Los Angeles: Peres Projects, 2009. OCLC 549611230.
  • Polaroids. Berlin/Los Angeles: Peres Projects, 2009. ISBN 978-0981765846.
  • I love you, stupid!. New York City: D.A.P., 2012. ISBN 9781938922145. Cologne: Walther König, 2013. ISBN 9783863352646.
  • Love Roses. New York City: Karma, 2015. ISBN 9780983730736.
  • Selected Works From 2001 To 2009. Zurich: Nieves; Geneva: Innen, 2014.
    • Second edition. Zurich: Nieves; Geneva: Innen, 2020. OCLC 1220901922.

Exhibitions edit

Solo exhibitions edit

  • Silence is the only true friend that shall never betray you, Rivington Arms, New York City, 2006. Collages.[6][17][18]
  • Rivington Arms, New York City, 2006. Found materials, collages, sculptures and assemblages.[19]

Group exhibitions edit

Collections edit

Snow's work is held in the following public collections:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Dash Snow - Telegraph". London: telegraph.co.uk. July 15, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Roberta Smith, "Dash Snow, New York Artist, Dies at 27", The New York Times, July 14, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e Gavin, Francesca (July 15, 2009). "Dash Snow: An art icon for our times?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Feuer, Alan; Salkin, Allen (July 24, 2009). "Terrible End for an Enfant Terrible". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  5. ^ Sean O'Hagan, The last days of Dash Snow, The Observer, September 20, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Micchelli, Thomas (October 15, 2006). "Dash Snow". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "The Untold Story of Downtown New York's Most Legendary Graffiti Crew". GQ. August 30, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  8. ^ Crow, Kelly (April 17, 2006). "The 23-Year Old Masters". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  9. ^ "Dan Colen - Interview Magazine". Interview Magazine. August 17, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Thompson, Haven. "Christophe de Menil: Blithe Spirit". W Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  11. ^ "Chasing Artist and Downtown Legend Dash Snow". New York Magazine. January 15, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  12. ^ Smith, Roberta (July 15, 2009). "Dash Snow, East Village Artistic Rebel, Dies at 27". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Roberta Smith,"Dash Snow, East Village Artistic Rebel, Dies at 27", The New York Times, July 15, 2009.
  14. ^ "Dash Snow's Estate Sues McDonald's for Copyright Infringement". Hyperallergic. October 5, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  15. ^ Sullivan & Worcester LLP - Nicholas O'Donnell (April 26, 2017). "McDonald's Beats Graffiti Copyright Claims in California, But Faces New Threat over New York Street Art". Lexology. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  16. ^ Greenberger, Alex (August 20, 2021). "Dash Snow Documentary Fails to Contend with the Artist's Carefully Constructed Persona". Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "Dash Snow at Rivington Arms". www.artforum.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  18. ^ Cotter, Holland (October 13, 2006). "Art in Review; Dash Snow". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  19. ^ "Michael Wilson on Dash Snow". www.artforum.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  20. ^ Merjian, Ara H. (2008). ""Babylon: Myth and Truth" at Pergamon Museum". Artforum.com. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  21. ^ "WHB". open-case-303. 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  22. ^ "Exhibitions". White House Biennial. 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  23. ^ "Materialized: New Ameriacn Video and..." Bergen Kunsthall. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  24. ^ "Exhibitions 2010". SMK – National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen (Statens Museum for Kunst). October 15, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  25. ^ "All artists in the collection: As of October 2015" Archived March 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Whitney Museum of American Art.
  26. ^ Patrick Amsellem, Dash Snow, Brooklyn Museum, May 22, 2009.
  27. ^ Alexandra Peers, "Dash Snow Piece Pulled From Auction", Vulture.com, July 17, 2009. Accessed December 7, 2017.
  28. ^ "Piece Wont Go to Bid", Blouinartinfo, July 20, 2009. Accessed December 7, 2017.

External links edit

  • Dash Snow Interview in Interview magazine
  • Denis Kovalev, "Dash Snow", Sgustok Magazine, 2010
  • Peres Projects, Berlin Los Angeles
  • Dash Snow Appearing in Graf Core 2000