Cris Dam

Cris Dam (b. 1976) is a Spanish-American visual artist, entrepreneur, gallerist, and real estate developer. Dam is known as the cofounder of Dam Stuhltrager Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the founder of Ursa Gallery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His commissioned murals can be found at public sites in both the United States and Europe. His real estate developments on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport and his projects in the Arcade Mall are a key component in the reinvigoration of the city as reported in the New York Times.https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/realestate/bridgeport-connecticut-homes.html
==Life==
Cris Dam was born in Anchorage, Alaska. He grew up in Granada, Spain, where he trained as a painter. He attended Parsons School of Design in New York City. His studio resides in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and he lives in nearby Westport, Connecticut, with his wife, the renowned Alexander Calder scholar, Susan Braeuer Dam.https://calder.org/?s=susan+braeuer+dam Braeuer Dam is a director at the Calder Foundation in New York.https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/alexander-sc-rower-calder-foundation-gallery
==Art Career==
===Dam Stuhltrager Gallery===
In 1998, Dam cofounded Dam Stuhltrager Gallery, with partner Leah Stuhltrager, becoming an early gallerist to propel Williamsburg, Brooklyn, into an art mecca. Dam Stuhltrager was an original member of WGA (Williamsburg Gallery Association) and founded WAC (Williamsburg Art Central). Artists who in part jumpstarted their career at Dam Stuhltrager include William Powhida, Loren Munk, Mark Esper, Carol Salmanson, Eric Doeringer, Randy Polumbo, Jeff Schneider, and Ruth Marshall, with early critical reception from Art Forum,"Dam Stuhltrager Gallery, Brooklyn." Artforum. 2007. 11211 magazine, Artnet,http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/art-world10-16-09.asp and the Brooklyn Rail.
Dam’s career as a painter began to receive significant reception in the early 2000s.Kalm, James. "ArtSeen: Cristobal Dam." The Brooklyn Rail. May 2004. "In a way, [Dam's] paintings are a throwback to an earlier age, a time before it was required for every artist to have a strategy, a convenient philosophical or stylistic formula, a gimmick … These new paintings are smaller and simpler, iconic though more rigorous, refined to distill the significant form by a reduction of complexity, and extending relevant humanistic abstraction through a meditative subtraction." His studio was also featured in the James Kalm Report.James Kalm Report: Studio Visit with Cris Dam.
Dam Stulhtrager moved to Berlin in 2012.https://www.artspracticum.org/william-powhida-leads-a-walk-through-the-remains-of-the-williamsburg-scene/
===International Commissions===
From 2000 on, Dam traveled internationally for commissions and shows in Germany, Istanbul, and Russia. Commissioned murals can be found in Stamford, Connecticut, at Lorca Coffee Shop; Jacksonville, Florida, at the Florida Life Building; and Berlin, Germany, at the Kunsthalle Bethanian/Ökozentrum, and Lagari. In many of the locations Dam activated the community, often engaging local schools and children to assist in the creation of the site."One Spark Project Lets Kids Paint Laura Street Trio Building." NPR, WJCT News. April 19, 2013.
===Ursa Gallery===
In 2017, Dam relocated his gallery to the Arcade Mall in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he became an notable figure in the Fairfield County art community.O’Neill, Tara. "Bridgeport’s open studios welcome community." Connecticut Post. November 11, 2017. He is most known for his light paintings, the largest of which spans six feet, in which the bulb is transformed from its historical place as a subject matter to a medium. Utilizing what James Turrell calls that “thingness” of light as a malleable substance, in these works Dam juxtaposed the tangible with the intangible.Hennessy, Christina. "Artist Cris Dam Throws the Switch on a New Series". Connecticut Post. May 28, 2018.
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Dam founded Ursa Gallery, conceived in collaboration with architect Dustin Malstrom, to curate shows and discover artists whose work is relevant to current times and culture. "Why Small Businesses Matter in Bridgeport: Ursa Gallery". HamletHub. February 16, 2021. Collaborators include the London Calling Collective,Yaniv, Etty. "In Accordion Time, Unfolding: A Pandemic Archive at Ursa Gallery." Art Spiel. December 30, 2020., Colorblends, SHIM Art Network, Bridgeport Art Trail, Bridgeport’s Downtown Special Services District, WPKN radio station, and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (CAFC).
===Film===
In 2010, Dam starred in "Crocker," a short directed by James Kendi and debuting Bobbi Salvör Menuez.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1779799/ The film also starred, alongside Dam, art dealer Louis Shannon, son of artist Tom Shannon.https://news.artnet.com/market/louis-shannon-entrance-gallery-2064040
===Awards===
In 2023, Dam received the Fairfield County ACE Awards for his contributions as an artist and real estate developer. Other awardees include Paul Newman.https://culturalalliancefc.org/ace-awards/
==Development==
===Lorca Coffee Roasters===
In 2022, Dam purchased real estate on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to build out Lorca Coffee Roasters, an outgrowth of Lorca Coffee Shop in Stamford. Lorca has been awarded Moffly Media's Best of the Gold Coast for the past several years.https://mofflylifestylemedia.com/best-of-the-gold-coast-2021/ Noted patrons include Ned Lamont and Caroline Simmons.https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Lamont-endorses-Simmons-in-Stamford-mayoral-race-16474127.php
Category:1976 births
Category:People from Anchorage, Alaska
Category:Visual artists
Category:Entrepreneurs
Category:Real estate developers