Daphne Fitzpatrick was born in Long Island, New York, in 1964.
Selected exhibitions include A Roll in the Hay at Bellwether
in New York (2007); Shared Women at Los Angeles Contemporary
Exhibitions (LACE) in Los Angeles (2007); Little Triggers at
Cohan and Leslie in New York (2003); Private View: Daphne
Fitzpatrick/Nancy Shaver/Amy Sillman/Kara Walker at Brent
Sikkema in New York (2001). Daphne Fitzpatrick lives and works in
Brooklyn.
Daphne Fitzpatrick’s practice is rooted in the historical and
aesthetic concerns of the flâneur, the 19th century literary figure
traditionally pictured as a dandy gentleman wandering the city
streets. The flâneur defines itself in opposition to the speed,
production, and values of modern urban life, stubbornly engaged in
cultivating a refined aesthetic position dedicated to appropriating
the overlooked and marginalized aspects of the urban landscape. For
Fitzpatrick, the flâneur’s contemporary stance is romantically
symbolized with an oversized photograph of worn high-top
sneakers—the mark of contemporary urban travels. Fitzpatrick
conflates a hobo sensibility with the care and attention of fine
craftsmanship. Whether appropriated, foraged, or recreated, each of
her works connects back to experiences within an ever-changing
urban environment. Fitzpatrick combines appropriated images, found
objects, photographs, sculpture, and video, building complex
narratives littered with banal joke shop humor, sexual puns and
perverse poetry. As Helen Molesworth wrote, Daphne Fitzpatrick is
“reimagining…the commodity as a kind of Surrealist-inflected game
piece…[she] uses the castoffs of spectacle culture to create
delicate, Lilliputian tableaux inflected with visual puns”.
For additional information about this artist, visit Mutual Art
