Artist Statement

Dario Mohr is a New York City based interdisciplinary artist. Born in 1988, Mohr received a BFA from Buffalo State College (2010), an MFA from The City College of New York (2019) and an Advanced Certificate in Art Education (2021). He combines nostalgic personal objects of varying heights with found materials to form shrines. These occupy the space in varying ways, leaning against walls, hanging from the ceiling, and existing as free standing sculptures with an architectural aesthetic. They also contain altars with organic offerings, symbolically designating them as devotional objects. Although created from a personal vantage point, the work functions publicly to open the audience’s perspective to ways they can reimagine nostalgic objects as symbols for memories, people, and experiences that can take on a spirituality of their own when revered in a way that is decontextualized from religion. He is also the founder and Director of AnkhLave Arts Alliance, Inc. which is a non-profit for the recognition and representation of people of color, particularly indigenous communities around the world.

Sanctuaries are reverential in nature, and often comprise both art and object. I construct these experiences referencing the visual language of my former anglican faith, as well as my burgeoning understanding of the spiritual practices of my ancestral heritage from West Africa, and philosophies from around the world. Lately, this has included the journey of reclamation of lost ancestry due to colonialism and slavery. My art practice is interdisciplinary, involving painting, sculpture, assemblage, installation, digital art and video, with creative reuse being a major part of my practice. This goes for both objects, and previously completed work, resulting in a constant evolution of my materials. Using this visual language, I often create large scale installations that the public are invited to touch, sit, and occasionally languish within, to really engage with and embrace the varied themes presented in the sacred spaces I create.