About Dave

Baltimore City
Dave Eassa is a visual artist and cultural worker that investigates relationships, social structures, and memories through painting, sculpture, and in community.
 
His work explores all the parts of being human; the good, the bad, and the ugly, the things that are sometimes too big to say out loud, sometimes are too quiet to make a noise, and everything in between. His paintings and sculpture simultaneously allow the viewer space for personal reflection and encourage a broader look… more

My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer

What do you do?

What’s your five year plan? Ten year? Retirement?

Maybe if you are lucky you will end up a rich man with a beautiful wife.

This installation imagines and builds a high profile lawyer's from the artist's stereotyped and preconceived ideas. The installation questions societal constructs and pressures surrounding Ivy League Culture, family dynasty,privilege, 9 to 5 job security, monetary and material milestones, self critique, and teenage and childhood nostalgia amongst others.
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • Bro. George Thompson on Guitar
    Bro. George Thompson on Guitar
    Photo by Sean Scheidt
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015
  • My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    My Mother Always Told Me I'd Grow Up To Be A Lawyer
    Dimensions variable, Installation view. Plaster, plywood, Pink Panther insulation foam, acrylic and oil paint. 2015

Advanced Cats


  • Hand In The Cookie Jar
    Hand In The Cookie Jar
    36" x 22" x 40" Pink Panther insulation foam and oil paint. 2015
  • Guardians of the Bad Luck
    Guardians of the Bad Luck
    36" x 16" x 30" each, Pink Panther insulation foam and oil paint.
  • A Strong Hold On One's Self Image
    A Strong Hold On One's Self Image
    Pink Panther insulation foam, canvas, and oil paint. Canvas: 55" x 50" Cat: 15" x 18" x 30" 2016
  • Hand in the Cookie Jar (detail)
    Hand in the Cookie Jar (detail)
    36" x 22" x 40" Pink Panther insulation foam and oil paint. 2015
  • Going for Gold (Who Really Wins Anyways?)
    Going for Gold (Who Really Wins Anyways?)
    Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, canvas, acrylic, latex, and oil paint. 65” x 72” x 24” 2017.
  • Going for Gold (Who Really Wins Anyways?)
    Going for Gold (Who Really Wins Anyways?)
    Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, canvas, acrylic, latex, and oil paint. 65” x 72” x 24” 2017.
  • Going for Gold (Who Really Wins Anyways?)
    Going for Gold (Who Really Wins Anyways?)
    Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, canvas, acrylic, latex, and oil paint. 65” x 72” x 24” 2017.

The Road To Rio

The weekend warrior, rad dad, coach, or the weirdo down the street, everyone has one, everyone grew up around one. They exude passion, tenacity, excitement, some may even say they found the fountain of youth, not letting themselves be confined by the trials and tribulations of middle age and societal constructs. Regular things like the 9 to 5 lifestyle, parenting, office culture, or money issues that have the ability to turn most adults into shells of their former selves are taken in stride while they continue on. In the “Road to Rio”, Eassa creates a character that exists within a no frills olympic training facility through painted sculpture. It tells the story of Dad following what is considered to be the most elite sporting event in the world in his own way. In solidarity, the Dad has built his own renditions of traditional Olympic disciplines like the pole vault, track and field, shot putt, archery, and gymnastics in a way that utilized the materials from his immediate environment, suburbia. Utilizing empty Heineken mini kegs from the block parties as a shot putt, old plywood for his archery target, and over time as he fathered 5 children, he stole enough plastic balls from the McDonald’s playplace to fill a landing pit for the pole vault. The “Road to Rio” allows the Dad to train with the elite while praising and questioning the idea of mediocrity, individuality, the working class, patriarchy, elitism, amongst others. Eassa’s work consistently questions the societal constructs surrounding himself and others, exploring how he exists within these constructs, known or unknown, on his own terms.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.
  • The Road to Rio
    The Road to Rio
    Solo exhibition with Platform Gallery at Little Berlin in Philadelphia, PA. March 2016. Pink Panther insulation foam, wood, sand, vinyl, spray paint, acrylic, and oil paint. Dimensions variable.