Dana Schein is Cornerstone Studios' 2025-26 Studio178 Artist in Residence.
b. 1990 New York, NY
MFA in Studio Art Hunter College, 2023
My paintings play with a tension between hiding and communicating. The images depict characters breaking pianos, grieving over violins, committing acts of betrayal, experiencing ecstasy and terror. Pulling from my own history as a musician, I am interested in conveying psychological states through narrative and destabilized compositions. Each painting portrays solitary figures struggling against the edges of the canvas and the instrument at hand, sometimes resisting and other times merging. Through rhythmic brushwork and bold marks the paintings convey cacophonous sound despite their inherent silence. These images pose questions about inner realities, creative struggles, loneliness, and divinity. Ultimately, I regard musical instruments as conduits for communion between the self and higher realms, thus pointing to the limitations of language and themes of spirituality and authorship.
inquiries and cv: scheindana@gmail.com