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
I consider myself to be a sculptor. I make my own body into a sculptural object as a way of expressing agency over my own body. I collapse object and maker. Even when I am performing, I consider myself to be sculpting. When I am sculpting, I often leave evidence of the maker as if the sculpture itself is a kind of performance art. These forms are constantly in conversation with each other like a dance. All of my work feels like a portrait. Also, all of my work feels like an anti-portrait. There is a sense of urgency and compulsion in my work. One can feel this in the way the inks are applied in haste, or the messy tapes are left on. What other artists might consider technical error are often left intentionally visible in my work. I am interested in making art as a formalist while simultaneously expressing disregard for traditions. I point at the art history I’m angry about. I comment on the male gaze by exploring many different forms of art making.
I am interested in working with technology in my art practice -- specifically in working with Artificial Intelligence. I create data based on my own body and I use AI software to generate new images of my body. These images are a departure point for my drawings and sculptures. I take inspiration from AI, just as artists have always taken inspiration from the world around them. By creating these abstract forms, I can control how much of myself I reveal and how I reveal it. I have more agency over my body and my image as I attempt to control what you see. My work is very intuitive and by creating my own datasets, what I am generating with AI is sculpted from that intuitive input. I believe AI can be a tool for creating art rather than something to replace art altogether. I am especially interested in the phantom presence of the human in my work. This is present in AI as well as other works, such as the sculptures I have created with household robotic appliances. I have exhibited work with Roomba vacuum cleaners, window cleaners that climb the gallery walls, and Dust Busters with contact microphones in them. This urge to go against gender expectations surrounding domesticity burns against the shadows cast by patriarchal domination, control, and fear.
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
Mutual Gravity, an MFA2 and MFA3 group show, California Institute of the Arts Main Gallery, Valencia, California
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