ABOUT CHRISTINE
Christine Gaffney is a performance artist and sculptor from Dayton, Ohio. She is currently attending California Institute of the Arts. She has studied art at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Her practice embraces ideas around body image, body politics, and feminism.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Laughter is important and making people laugh feels altruistic to me most of the time. I also think women historically have not been allowed to be funny in their art practices. That is an idea I like to challenge within my own work. My application of humor in my work is uncomfortable. Not only is it uncomfortable for the viewer but it is uncomfortable for me as the artist. For this reason, there is also often an undeniably serious component to my work. People often do not know if they should be laughing, and they teeter on whether they can give themselves permission to do so. I experiment with placement, and I interact with objects in a way that feels accessible and inviting to the viewer. People recognize and comment on a reoccurring authenticity and a friendly affect that is apparent in my work. My work is not about providing solutions, but instead I elicit questions and stir emotions. Themes such as feminism and body image are important in my work. Personal agency, bodily autonomy, and body sovereignty fall within those themes and my work is genuinely concerned with those ideas. Beauty ideology is a thread of discussion throughout my body of work. I discovered my current practice by way of sculpture training, and I think of myself as a sculptor. My performance work emphasizes sculptural objects that I make. I interact with these objects in my videos and performances, or I display these pieces as artifacts of a performance. By utilizing techniques such as stillness, mimicry, and repetition, I am an object in my piece I am working on, performing, or exhibiting. My sculpture is more serious and is often referred to as minimal. In contrast, my performance work is hilarious and is described as maximum. I explore these forms separately or I weave these two bodies of work together to create one. Even when I am performing my art, I consider myself to be sculpting. Often in art, at least historically, men have been the artists portraying women’s bodies. Artists often talk about the male gaze when we talk about this kind of objectification of the female body. I too, want to talk about the female body… mostly my female body. I think by turning my body into an object aesthetically I am commenting on this established system by creating a subversive quality in the work. What makes my own work different than the work I point to is the fact that I have agency as the subject, the object, and the maker.
Education
August 2020 - May 2023
MFA, California Institute of the Arts, Art and Technology, Valencia, California
August 2019 - April 2020
University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, Cincinnati, Ohio
August 2018 - April 2019
Wright State University Humanities Program, Dayton, Ohio
August 2012 - December 2015
MLIS, Masters in Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
August 2007 - December 2010
BFA, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
Time Based Media Studies
minor in Art History
August 2013 - December 2005
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
Visual Communications
Selected Exhibitions
2022
An Evening of Performance, hosted by CBain, Mathew Adam Ross’s art studio in Echo Park, LA
Experimental performance for Sound Pedro with Kensaku Shinohara,
Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, California
MFA Open Studios Performance, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
An Evening of Performance, hosted by CBain, Mathew Adam Ross’s art studio in Echo Park, LA
Dance performance for Sound Pedro with Kensaku Shinohara,, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, California
Performance Art Event, Mathew Adam Ross’s art studio in Echo Park, LA
2021
Dance Showing, California Institute of the Arts, In-Person Showing for Composition Class under instruction of Alexsa Durrans
An Evening of Performance, hosted by CBain, Mathew Adam Ross’s art studio in Echo Park, LA
Fall Thurs Night, California Institute of the Arts, Online Student Exhibition of
Integrated Media
MFA2 Art School Show, California Institute of the Arts, In-person exhibition of student work
MFA2 Art and Technology Show, California Institute of the Arts, In-person exhibition of student work
Student Expo, California Institute of the Arts, Online School-wide exhibition of
student work
Spring Thurs Night, California Institute of the Arts, Online Student Exhibition of
Integrated Media
Perform-a-rama, 24-hour performance festival by Pique Gallery, Covington Kentucky
Thurs Night, California Institute of the Arts, Online Student Exhibition of Cluster Tech Class Winter Session Class
2020
Illuminate, Dayton Society of Artists, Dayton, Ohio
Refresh, Refresh, Refresh. Roy G Biv Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
Queer Art Summer, Online Exhibition by the Bennett Collective
Performerama, Pique Gallery, Covington, Kentucky. (cancelled due to Covid-19)
Student Performance Art Showcase, Pique Gallery, Covington, Kentucky. (cancelled due to Covid-19)
First Year MFA Review, Reed Gallery, University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning ANNEX, Cincinnati, Ohio. (cancelled due to Covid-19)
Artist in the Time of Coronavirus, a Virtual Exhibition. Art Blog, Philadelphia, PA.
Open Studio, University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning ANNEX, Cincinnati, Ohio
2019
Video Screening, WavePool Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Open Studio, Waiting Room Gallery at University of Cincinnati’s Victory Parkway Campus, Cincinnati, Ohio
Dotted Lines, Tabula Rasa Gallery at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, Cincinnati, Ohio
Vise Versa 2, The Clean Space at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Crossing Boundaries, Dayton Society of Artists, Dayton, Ohio
Watch, a time-based experimental art show, The Collaboratory, Dayton, Ohio
(I also organized and curated this exhibition)
Bloom, an abstract/experimental art show, The Collaboratory, Dayton, Ohio
New Kids on the Block, College Student and Recent Graduate Show, Dayton, Ohio
Winterfolk Fest, Old Yellow Cab Building, Dayton, Ohio
2018
Ladyfest, Old Yellow Cab Building, Dayton, Ohio
*Christine Gaffney’s Selected Paintings, Skeleton Dust Records, Dayton, Ohio
Dayton Sideshow 13, Old Yellow Cab Building, Dayton, Ohio
2017
Sideshow 12, Old Yellow Cab Building, Dayton, Ohio
Professional Experience
July 2022 - August 2022
SCULPTURE INSTRUCTOR
CSSATA, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
April 2022 - April 2022
ARTIST ASSISTANT
Temporary Artist Assistant for Alison Saar, Alison Saar Studio, North Hollywood, California
January 2022 - April 2022
CURATOR
Curator of Performances, California Institute of the Arts MFA Open Studios, Santa Clarita, California
January 2022 - May 2022
CURATOR AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Creative Director, California Institute of the Arts Student Expo, Santa Clarita, California
August 2021 - Present
IMAGE SERVICES LIBRARY ASSISTANT
May 2021
PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP LEADER
Performance Workshop, a workshop on amateurism and performance at the Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
May 2020
ONLINE ART COLLECTIVE CURATOR
Creator of Fat Body of Work, an online exhibition and collection of art, Cincinnati, Ohio
January 2020 - August 2020
OFFICER OF GRADUATE STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Officer of Graduate Student Government, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
January 2020 - May 2020
GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT
Graduate Teaching Assistant for Performance Art Course at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, Cincinnati, Ohio
January 2020 - May 2020
GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Graduate Assistant for Dr. Lauren Tate’s Ancient to Midieval Art History Course at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, Cincinnati, Ohio
January 2020
JUROR
Juror for Miami Valley Regional Art Contest at K12 Galleries
August 2019 - December 2019
GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Graduate Assistant for Professor Matt Lynch and Tabula Rasa Gallery at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, Cincinnati, Ohio
May 2019 - August 2019
CAMP COORDINATOR
Art Camp Coordinator, Rosewood Art Centre, Kettering, Ohio
March 2019 - May 2019
ART INSTRUCTOR
Art Teacher, K12 Gallery for Young People, Dayton, Ohio
August 2018 - April 2019
GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT
Graduate Teaching Assistant for Professor Aaron Wolpert’s Greek Mythology and Greek and Roman Culture courses at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
January 2006 - June 2017
PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIAN
Librarian, Dayton Metro Library, Dayton, Ohio
Professional Experience
August 2015 - December 2015
LIBRARY INTERNSHIP
Teen Spot Intern, The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Cincinnati,
Ohio
2005
GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERNSHIP
Graphic Design Intern, MTV Networks, New York, New York
2004
GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERNSHIP
Graphic Design Intern, Planned Parenthood Headquarters, New York, New York
2003
GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERNSHIP
Graphic Design Intern, DKNY Jeans, New York, New York
Awards and Accolades
2022
Lillian Disney Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
Richard Seaver Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
Diversity Grant, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
2021
Jeremy Blake Memorial Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
Lillian Disney Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
Student Union Grant, awarded once in the Spring and once in the Fall
2020
Jeremy Blake Memorial Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
Lillian Disney Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California
Wolfstein Travel Fellowship Award, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
awarded $1500.00 for travel but was not able to use because of Covid-19
DAAP School of Art Scholarship, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio awarded $750.00 towards art exhibition at Roy G Biv Gallery
Graduate Student Government Diversity and Inclusion Grant, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio awarded $1500.00 grant for project, Fat Body of Work
2019
Graduate Scholarship Award, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
2017
American Library Association, Emerging Leader, Sponsored by Ohio Library Council
2007
Portfolio Scholarship, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
2005
Outstanding Student, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York