Work samples

  • What Did You See
    What Did You See

    30 inches x 30 inches

    oil, wax, glitter, glass on panel

    2024

  • Perhaps I'll Deserve You And Be Even Worthy of You
    Perhaps I'll Deserve You And Be Even Worthy of You

    10 inches by 10 inches

    oil pastel on panel

    2024

  • untitled
    untitled

    10 inches by 10 inches 

    oil pastel on panel

    2025

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About David

Baltimore City  

David Ayala was born in Carroll, Iowa in 1997. They received a BFA from the University of Iowa in 2020, and completed their MFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2023. Exploring themes of queer identity, religion, and obliteration, Ayala combines traditional oil paints with non-traditional media such as glitter and nail polish. He has shown work at the University of Iowa, University of Dubuque, as well as Cotyledon Arts and the Peale Museum in Baltimore. Most recently, Ayala has… more

View David's Resume
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Nail Polish Paintings

Since 2022, I have been using nail polish to paint small works on panel. These paintings with their glittery, enameled surfaces shift between existing as images are bejeweled objects. 

  • Stupor
    Stupor

    8 inches by 10 inches, nail polish on panel, 2022

    Calling on Andrea Mantegna's Lamentation of Christ, the central figure of this work shimmers and sparkles as light rakes across its lacquered surface.

  • American Moonlight
    American Moonlight

    8 inches by 10 inches, nail polish on panel, 2022

    I'm interested in the role I play as a queer person in the imperial core, evermore so as it races towards fascism. Here I reflect on my right to exist openly in this country, and whether or not that right is secure.

  • Sweet Dreams
    Sweet Dreams

    5 inches by 7 inches, nail polish on panel, 2023

    This tiny, intimate painting captures an intimate moment of peace and love. 

  • Celestial Martyrs
    Celestial Martyrs

    10 inches x 8 inches, nail polish on panel, 2024

    Nail polish lends itself wonderfully to working with glitter, a medium that can often feel out-of-place in painting. In the context of nail polish, glitter feels perfectly natural and easily integrates into the image. I take advantage of that quality to more dramatic effect in this work, where the glittering ground harkens back to the glittering gold grounds of early Christian mosaics.

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    • Obliteration Paintings

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    • What Did You See
      What Did You See

      30 inches x 30 inches

      oil, wax, glitter, glass on panel

      2024

    • untitled
      untitled

      This painting of my great grandmother uses color to evoke deep familial ties as well as evoke themes of grief, anger, and loss.

    • Self Portrait
      Self Portrait

      26 inches by 26 inches

      oil, wax, glitter, glass on panel

      2024

      This work calls on a tradition of artists painting their self portraits as severed heads. Though not gruesome or gorey, the head is this painting evokes quiet disorientation as it floats over a ground of nebulous color.

    • The Good Witch
      The Good Witch

      24 inch diameter

      oil, wax, glitter, glass on panel

      2022

       

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