Visit the Studio with Dan Bina

Anyone familiar with our platform knows Dan Bina is an Art in Res heavy hitter. He’s an artist who can do it all with the perfect combination of wit, craft, and depth –– from complex abstract to gentle watercolors to his downright iconic meme recreations. Let’s take a look together inside Dan’s practice, his studio, and his artistic sense of humor now.

What is your art about? What does it speak to?

I think at the root of all my work is a fundamental joy of living. I have a core need to satisfy different aspects of my psyche, which is why my work spreads out in many directions. Some of it deals with very serious emotional and socially charged matters, while other times I use humor as a strategic device to enter the mind of a viewer. I’m drawn toward the light and dark sides of comedy as opposed to a more tragic outlook on life.

I’m rather privileged in having experienced a modest, comfortable upbringing that has bridged a historic threshold from analog existence to an increasingly digital one. A childhood before the internet and an emerging adulthood online has made for an interesting life. I make art as a reflection of this. Painting, collage, abstraction, framing, and traditional woodworking are all part of a broader holistic creative practice. All of these disciplines provide me with an array of outlets to expand into. I hope that my work speaks to our contemporary audience and to subsequent generations. My work is a document of what I am paying attention to. It’s serious play.

What materials do you use and why?

I’m a classical materialist in that I love surface, texture, fluidity, etc. I am fond of antiques and patina. By habit, I consider myself a painter by volume, I’m a collage artist. Paper and WiFI are my lifelines –– two profoundly great inventions of civilization.

I prefer to work in analog formats across all my disciplines. Wood, paper, ink, paint, and canvas all have subtle tactile natures. I should add water to my list. It’s the key ingredient for working in ink and watercolors.

I have two book libraries: one is composed of art monographs, literature, and poetry while the other is dedicated to harvesting collage images.

Where do you get your inspiration?

I’m a romantic, so I’m inspired by everything and almost everyone. I jest, but even people that aggravate me promote thinking in new directions. I believe inspiration is being in tune with one's environmental conditions.

I mine a lot of the mid century period for my source imagery and listen to its music too. Jazz, Blues, and Rock n Roll are vast wellsprings for me and help build a sense of historical narrative in my work. There is a flippant punk edge to some of my iconoclastic attitudes and a sincere secular reverence for humanity. There is so much out there in the world, that if you are not inspired by something then you are either not turning over the right rocks or you are probably dead, and therein lies the crux of the truth. Everybody loves an excuse to party, and in a way, life is a party, and I don’t see myself ever wanting to leave it. I’m inspired to make things so aspects of me will exist well beyond me getting kicked off the island of life.

What is your typical routine when you get to the studio? Walk us through a typical studio day.

I spent much of the 2020 covid-19 shutdown renovating my home and studio for my wife and myself as we are expecting our first child –– a baby girl. This led to a lot of woodworking Tetris construction projects that has resulted in a very organized setting aimed to keep myself honest with life’s many demands.

I think everyday is a studio day even if you’re not in the studio. Absolutely everything I see, read, digest, and experience could possibly lead me along a line of creative thinking. To this end I collect ideas from the internet, from books, and from my workplace in the art auction world. I try to organize my research in accordance to what attracts me most. I broadly work in series and so it’s helpful for me to build large collections of work along congruent thought patterns. In the case of collage, I’ve allocated a lot of physical space to my cuttings and materials so that when I am putting things together there is freedom to explore, to allow the works to be rather spontaneous –– like an improvisational jazz solo. There is training and experience built in but the performance is fresh.

As for my more conceptually based paintings, I’m more like a builder. There is a lot of planning and preparation before I begin –– measure twice, cut once. Then I work and it’s about a matter of fulfilling the end result to my best ability. I loathe the word perfunctory, but it captures one aspect of it. The final product is no less genuine than the original spark.

On a good beach day, I like to lounge and paint plein air in watercolor because it is one of the most enjoyable activities to both occupy and clear my mind. Summer beach days under my tent with a cold glass of blanc are the best studio days.

Do you work at a particular size or scale? Why?

The logistical concerns of storage and archiving are important to consider when making art. In New York space is limited. Canvases can be rolled up and paper can be flat-filed. It depends on which series I am working on, but I do gravitate toward specific standard sizes with regard to works on paper and less so with canvases. I generally work at a modest intimate scale due to working in a smaller studio. Predetermined set sizes for paper are important for my process when I tear down sheets of paper and store them. I also try to reduce waste. I do all of my own custom framing for paintings and works on paper.

When I go to the woodshop I build a few of my standard size frames in bulk to streamline my process. I worked in a door factory in my college years which gave me a respect for production lines. I will deviate, but a few standbys are important for my general workflow. I have more ideas than time, so it’s important to set a few limitations. This allows me to frame on demand for my collectors. I also worked as a professional framer and my experience with woodworking allows me to exert specific control over how my works are presented to the world. It is an economic decision as much as conceptually vital to the final result –– the frame is a part of the artwork rather than merely a practical embellishment.

Do you balance another job in addition to being an artist?

I work as a professional art handler or art technician depending on which side of the Atlantic you reside. It’s a position I’ve held for many years in the heart of the New York and, therefore, the global, art auction world –– it has informed an enormous amount of my experience and thinking as an artist. Through my job I am bombarded by extraordinary historic and contemporary works of art and it seeps into what I do in the studio. I’m fortunate for this exposure, but it requires a filtering process for me to situate myself into my own era and interests. The high stakes, demanding working environment is also a training ground for discipline and clarity –– both intellectually and for time budgeting. This immersive arena is a playground for lovers of historical artifacts. It’s great. It is like working inside a collage.

A stable steady income is vital for my mind to be able to wander into other realms. I find economic stress is a deterrent for most creative processes. I also occasionally freelance as a woodworker and fabricator and consult as a designer. All of this in addition to being a husband and soon to be father –– so I have my hands full in every sense.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this special peek into Dan's creative environment! Even in a virtual age, we encourage all budding collectors to take the time to connect with the artists you love directly.

We want to remind you of our awesome artist messaging feature directly on the Art in Res site –– reach out now and foster that creative energy! Have more questions for Dan on his art and practice? Follow up with him directly via our messenger. We know he’ll be thrilled to answer any questions you might have. Ask about a specific painting or about his specific process in general––either approach works!