Artist Highlight: Chris Dougnac
Bakehouse artist Chris Dougnac has been involved in the arts and culture since an early age. Dougnac was born to two Cuban immigrants, both architects, and surrounded by a family of creatives.
After graduating from Florida International University with a BFA in Art and a Minor in Art History, they worked as an archivist and graphic designer for the de la Cruz Collection. They work in installation, painting, performance, and sculpture and have been in residence at Bakehouse since 2019.
Can you tell us about your artistic practice?
I am a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in found and manipulated ephemera, sound, installation, and performance to analyze and deconstruct the role of the artist as “image maker” in the art historical continuum through the lens of contemporary practices. Throughout my work, I utilize humor as a tool in an attempt to interface with the “truth” (What do people say about jokes? They are 99% true).
Tell us about a personal artistic project or body of work that you are currently excited about.
I am currently in the process of realizing my first solo exhibition titled Temple, Rock, Cloud debuting this fall in Bakehouse’s Swenson Gallery. At first glance, the exhibition presents itself as a painting show, reimagining the 13 “masterpieces” by Nicolas Poussin that hang in room 825 of the Louvre in Paris. In reality, it functions as a readymade, meditating on the aesthetic and technological gesture of chroma key green screen, the plasticity of painting, and the role an “artist” plays in engaging a work of art with the public at large.
Tell us about how you have developed as an artist since you began working at Bakehouse.
When I first arrived in 2019, to be completely honest and at the risk of sounding melodramatic, I felt like an outcast. My band is called Pariuh, so maybe it’s attributable to some degree of negative self talk.
Since moving into Bakehouse, thought, I have had the pleasure of not only being welcomed, but becoming a part of this diverse community of thinkers and makers.
What do you enjoy most about being a part of the Bakehouse community?
Aside from the Bakehouse’s prime location and it’s proximity to diverse neighborhoods, including Allapattah, Wynwood, Midtown, and the Miami Design District, nothing beats the feeling of getting off of work, driving to the studio, and being able to engage with a next level state of creative play. Whether that means spending an hour reading a new book in the garden, getting your hands dirty working on a new project, or falling into unexpected adventures with fellow artists, the Bakehouse provides the perfect environment for the realization of creative opportunity and possibility.
