Dorian Wood (b. 1975, pronouns: she/her/they/them) is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Using subject matter informed by their own perspective as a non-binary brown person, a child of Costa Rican and Nicaraguan immigrants, and an autodidact, Wood’s intent of “infecting” spaces and ideologies with their artistic practice is born from a desire to challenge traditions and systems that have contributed to the marginalization of people.
Wood has performed at institutions that include The Broad, Los Angeles, CA (2018), REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA (2019), Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, CA (2010), Museo Nacional Del Prado, Madrid, Spain (2019), the City Hall of Madrid, Spain (2015), Teatro de la Ciudad Esperanza Iris, Mexico City, Mexico (2019), Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (2017), Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany (2014), Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany (2014) and Moods, Zurich, Switzerland (2019), and at festivals that include Pacific Standard Time, Los Angeles, CA (2011), OUTsider Fest, Austin, TX (2019), Festival Cruilla, Barcelona, Spain (2017), WorldPride Madrid, Spain (2017), Festivals Kometa, Riga, Latvia (2016), Moers Festival, Germany (2017), Cully Jazz Festival, Switzerland (2015) and Saint Ghetto Festival, Bern, Switzerland (2017).
From 2019 to 2020, Wood completed several successful international tours with their chamber orchestra tribute to Chavela Vargas, XAVELA LUX AETERNA.
As a visual artist, Wood has created illustrations and video installations that have been exhibited in galleries around the world. They have also directed several short films, among them Low’s “Disappearing” video (2021), “American Savagery” (2021), “FAF” (2021), “The World’s Gone Beautiful” (2020), “PAISA” (2019, co-directed with Graham Kolbeins), “O” (2014) and “La Cara Infinita” (2013).
Wood is a recipient of the Creative Capital Award (2020) and the Art Matters Foundation grant (2020), and a past artist-in-residence at Building Bridges Art Exchange, Santa Monica, California (2020), Etopia, Centro de Arte y Tecnologia, under the FUGA program, Zaragoza, Spain (2019) and MASS Gallery, Austin, Texas (2017). They have been invited as a visiting artist to speak at institutions that include Northwestern University (2021), Occidental College (2019), Syracuse University (2020), UCLA (2021), CalArts School of Music (2021) and Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2020).
Wood has released over a dozen recordings, among them the albums ARDOR (Independent, 2020), REACTOR (Independent, 2020), XALÁ (Atonal Industries, 2017), Down, The Dirty Roof (Atonal Industries, 2013), Rattle Rattle (Atonal Industries, 2013), Brutus (Independent, 2010) and BOLKA (Independent, 2007).
