Daid Puppypaws
Born in 1986 in Los Angeles, CA. Works in Los Angeles, CA.
Daid Puppypaws is a multidisciplinary artist and educator known for their sculptures, paintings, and photographs. They received an MFA in sculpture from Yale University, where they were a recipient of the Yale School of Art Social Justice Initiative Grant (2020). They also hold a BFA in Photography from Otis College of Art and Design.
Puppypaws' work is guided by the declaration that art is a practice of freedom inseparable from everyday life. Puppypaws' sculptures draw on the visual language of rocket science, as they deploy durable materials common to the aerospace industry such as fiberglass, resin, and kevlar. The sculptures also circulate through videos, paintings, and drawings, wherein Puppypaws documents physical components of the rockets and their launches.
In 2016, Puppypaws founded BLACKNASA, a space agency aimed to teach rocketry and the ideals of space exploration to underrepresented youth groups. Animated by Puppypaws' sculptural practice, BLACKNASA views rocketry as a science, a creative practice, and a universal language.
Puppypaws also takes up photography, sound, and various other media that meditate on contemporary American identity, collective thought, and possible futures. Traversing mediums, Puppypaws' work is united by the principle that art and life are endlessly intertwined.
Solo Exhibitions
Group Exhibitions
The Armory Off-Site at the US Open
56 Henry, New York, NYFound in Translation
56 Henry, New York, NY
Kimball Jenkins School of ArtUntil All is Resolved
Five Car Garage, Los Angeles, CAPhenomenology of Outer Space
Soil Gallery, Seattle, WAEbsploitation, Curated by Ebony L. Haynes
Martos Gallery, New York, NYInstitute for Quantum Music Research
The Nan Rae Gallery, Burbank, CA
No Deep Kissing II
Yale School of Art, New Haven, CTNo Deep Kissing
Yale School of Art, New Haven, CTBeyond Black
Screenshot, Prague, Czech RepublicFMLY Ride Retrospective
Echo Chamber Creative Headquarters, Los Angeles, CA