About
Biography
Damon Arhos is a visual artist and art educator who lives and works in Washington, DC and Louisville, Kentucky. A gay American of Greek descent, he creates artworks that present portraits of identity as they reflect both queer experiences and cultural dichotomies. Arhos frequently appropriates Ancient Greek art and mythology, anthropomorphic forms, and elements of LGBTQIA+ culture within repetitive and everyday visual contexts.
Arhos has exhibited work at Ortega y Gasset Projects and NOGO Arts in New York City; MassArt x SoWa in Boston, Massachusetts; Catalyst Contemporary and City Hall in Baltimore, Maryland; Art Miami and the Baltimore Fine Art Print Fair; Connersmith, DC Arts Center, Dupont Underground, IA&A at Hillyer, and the American University Art Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, DC; and E.A.S.T. and the People’s Gallery in Austin, Texas – among others.
A past semifinalist for The Trawick Prize, Arhos has attained residencies from the Vermont Studio Center (VSC) in Johnson, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) in Amherst, and VCCA le Moulin à Nef in Auvillar, France. His large-scale portrait Matthew Shepard Was A Target hangs in the Denver, Colorado headquarters of the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
His affiliations have included Seven Windows Studios, STABLE, Washington Printmakers Gallery, and DC Arts Studios in Washington, DC; as well as Art Alliance Austin, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum, and Pump Project Art Complex in Austin. He is represented by Catalyst Contemporary in Baltimore.
Arhos earned an MFA in Studio Art and a Certificate in the College Teaching of Art from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore. He is an Assistant Professor of Art at Kentucky College of Art + Design (KyCAD) in Louisville. In May 2024, he will begin a four-year term as a member of the College Art Association (CAA) Board of Directors.
Artist Statement
My artworks present portraits of identity as they reflect both queer experiences and cultural dichotomies. I derive narrative and visual content from my status as a gay American of Greek descent. I employ ancient Greek art and mythology, anthropomorphism, and LGBTQIA+ references to reveal conflicting circumstances and therefore question normative frames of reference.
My practice is interdisciplinary and its subject matter is socially motivated. I leverage repetition, appropriation, and everyday situations to explore multifaceted concepts. I often incorporate images and objects that have distinct connections to my personal history and that reference the complexities of queer physical and emotional relationships. My process pairs historic investigation with intense physical labor.
As I design and produce each series, I seek to present a visible, understandable narrative alongside one that is more complicated and indistinct. In this way, I mirror lengthy, elaborate interactions among many and summon the limitations of our own values and assumptions. The artworks I create inherently advocate for dignity and equality on behalf of the communities I belong to and serve.
© 2024 Damon Arhos Studio, LLC