Dan Attoe

Dan Attoe is an American painter, sculptor, and author. He is represented by Andrew Reed in Miami, The Hole in New York and Los Angeles, and Western Exhibitions in Chicago. Attoe is recognized for his detailed landscape and figurative paintings, as well as his neon sculptures that often resemble beer signs or classic roadside advertising, featuring humorous or philosophical text.

His first novel, "The Taking Tree," was published in May 2024. Throughout his career, Attoe has integrated text into his artwork, having studied writing at The Writers' Workshop while pursuing his MFA at the University of Iowa.

Attoe earned his BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and UW–Stevens Point at Wausau in 1998, and his MFA from the University of Iowa in 2004.

Born in Bremerton, Washington, Attoe spent his childhood in various locations, including Island Park and Ashton, Idaho, and Silver Bay, Minnesota, due to his father's employment with the U.S. Forest Service. His mother often worked as a librarian.

Before establishing himself as an artist, Attoe worked part-time at Wausau Window and Wall Systems in Wausau, Wisconsin, for four years and held positions as a security guard, maintenance worker, and part-time installation technician at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Currently, Attoe resides in Washougal, Washington, where he continues to create art, write, and operate a tattoo shop named Dan’s Tattoos.

He is one of the founders of the collaborative art group Paintallica but left the group in 2017 due to creative differences.

Solo exhibitions

 * “The Dead of Winter II”, The Hole, L.A. 2023
 * "The Dead of Winter", The Hole, New York 2022
 * "Pandemic Paintings", Western Exhibitions, Chicago 2021
 * "Dan Attoe", The Hole, New York 2020
 * "American Dreams," curated by Tania Pardo, MUSAC, Leon, Spain
 * Group Exhibition, "Shape of Things to Come," Saatchi Gallery, London
 * Group Exhibition, Contemporary Northwest Art Awards, Portland Art Museum, Portland
 * "Simple Thoughts and Complicated Animals," Peres Projects Berlin, Germany
 * "Several Landscapes," Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
 * "Loaded, Nailed, and short on Cash," Peres Projects, Los Angeles
 * "You have more freedom than you are using," Peres Projects, Berlin, Germany
 * "Vilma Gold," London, UK 404 Arte Contemporanea, Naples, Italy
 * "Some of the best things I know," Peres Projects, Los Angeles
 * "New Figuration," Galleri Christina Wilson, Copenhagen, Denmark
 * "Some of the Best Things I know," Peres Projects, Los Angeles

Selected group exhibitions

 * "Hollywood Dream Bubble: Ed Ruscha’s Influence in Los Angeles and Beyond", The Hole, Los Angeles 2024
 * "Chasing Light", Two-person exhibition, Andrew Reed Gallery, Miami 2023
 * "Storage Wars", The Hole, Los Angeles 2023
 * "The Midnight Hour", The Hole, New York 2023
 * "Drawing Biennial", Western Exhibitions, Chicago 2023
 * "Gravity's Rainbow", October 20 - November 24, 2007 Athens, Greece
 * "8th Northwest Biennial," Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Washington
 * "Phantasmania," Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri
 * "1627-2007," artnews projects, Berlin, Germany
 * "Let's go camping," John Connelly Presents, New York City, NY
 * "There's no fooling you (the classics)," Peres Projects, Los Angeles
 * "Montezuma's Revenge," Nicole Klagsbrun, New York City, NY
 * "The Zine UnBound: Kults, Werewolves and Sarcastic Hippies," Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
 * "Growing Up Absurd," Hebert Read Gallery, Kent, England
 * 2011: Geheimgesellschaften. Wissen Wagen Wollen, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Education

 * 1998	BFA, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
 * 2004	MFA, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA