Working primarily in collage and installation, Dayna Thacker uses found materials to investigate thought systems we use to make sense of the world and ourselves, with a particular interest in the overlap of contemplative disciplines and scientific theory. A graduate of the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Thacker lived in Atlanta from 2006 to 2014, and has recently moved to Birmingham, Alabama. She was awarded a studio space at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center for 2008-2013, and was a finalist for the Forward Arts Foundation 2010 Emerging Artist Award. Her work has been included or reviewed in Art Papers, New American Paintings, ArtsATL, Burnaway, and The Atlantan Magazine, among others.
Solo Exhibitions
2013 Theories of Everything, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
2011 Call and Response, Moon Gallery, Berry College, Rome, Georgia
The Weight of Attachment, The Fire House Gallery, Louisville, Georgia
2010 Pivots of Moment and the Structure of Accumulation, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
2009 Everyday Mythologies, Georgia College and State University Museum, Milledgeville, Georgia
2007 Taking A Stroll Through the Dark Night of the Soul, Gallery Stokes, Atlanta, Georgia
2004 Another Woman’s Treasure, Elysium Gallery, Savannah, Georgia
Cold Comfort, Steve Wiley Studios, Savannah, Georgia
2003 Nature Fetish Series, Tango, Savannah, Georgia
Selected Juried and Group Exhibitions
2022
Story Lines, Mary S. Byrd Gallery of Art at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
A Feminine View of Brotherhood, Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, Buckhead, Georgia
2021
private nature, group show, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Common Thread, three-person show, Florida State College, Jacksonville, Florida
2020
She Is Here, retrospective group show, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, Georgia
2017
Smoke, Mirrors, two-person show, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Light, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
2016
Works on Paper: 1980-2013 Women from the Permanent Collection, MOCA GA, Atlanta, Georgia
The New South, Kai Lin Art, Atlanta, Georgia
2014
Exquisite Walls, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Tiny Universe, Gallery@ Hotel Indigo, Athens, Georgia
Second Nature, Goat Farm Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Growth, Gallery Walk at Terminus, Atlanta, Georgia
southXeast: southeastern contemporary art, Schmidt Center Gallery, Florida Atlantic University
Molecular, Drain Magazine, Vol. 11:1, 2014. www.drainmag.com
Ossuary, Herron Galleries, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana
2013
Ossuary, University of Tennessee Downtown Gallery, Knoxville, Tennessee
Hambidge Great ARTdoors Festival, The Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Georgia
Cut and Paste: Contemporary Collage, Abernathy Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia
The World All Around, Gallery@ Hotel Indigo, Athens, Georgia
Gallery Culture, Gallery Walk at Terminus, Atlanta, Georgia
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Cut, Alter, Assemble, Bobick Gallery, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia
2012
re: Noun, Westobou Festival, Augusta, Georgia
Curator: Nancy Solomon
Tiny Universe, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Gallery 307, Athens, Georgia
Autumn Exhibition, CAS Fine Art Consulting, Savannah, Georgia
Wide Open 3, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, New York
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
The Price is Right, Swan Coach House, Atlanta, Georgia
2011
After Dark, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
Whistling in the Dark, 1704 Lincoln Gallery, Savannah, Georgia
Georgia Artists: Juried Exhibition, Abernathy Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Rivers, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
2010
Forward Arts Foundation Emerging Artists, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Hand to Hand, Chaffee Art Center, Rutland, Vermont
The Birds and Some Bees, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
2009
Photo-Based, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
New American Paintings, 2009 Southern Edition, #82
Juror: Ron Platt, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Birmingham Museum of Art
Bibliography
2020
Featured artist on New South Finds by Linda Jerkins; newsouthfinds.com
2017
Melanie Jean, “‘Light’ at Wally Workman Gallery – Taking in all the varieties of gold in this polished group
show is akin to basking in sunlight on a bleak winter’s day,” The Austin Chronicle, December 8, 2017
Rebecca Brantley, “‘Smoke, Mirrors’ at Marcia Wood Gallery illustrates the importance of stewardship,”
ArtsATL, September 1, 2017
2014
Sherri Caudell, “Exquisite Exhibit: An Exercise in Collaboration at ACAC,” Burnaway, October 9, 2014
Jerry Cullum, “Review: Lively “exquisite corpses” in paint, video and sculpture from the
Contemporary’s studio artists,” ArtsATL, September 29, 2014
Jerry Cullum, “Last call: “Second Nature,” thoughtful and visually stunning group show at
Goat Farm, closes May 17,” ArtsATL, May 12, 2014
Florida Atlantic University, southXeast: Contemporary Southeastern Art, catalog, 2014
Karen Tauches, “Interview with Dayna Thacker,” Drain Magazine, Vol. 11:1, 2014. www.drainmag.com
2013
Heather Joyner Spica, “Review: Two New Shows at Räla and Downtown Gallery,”
MetroPulse, October 16, 2013
Jerry Cullum, “Review: Dayna Thacker’s sacred geometry, careful craft make for art
handsome and profound,” ArtsATL, April 2, 2013
Scott Daughtridge, “Review: Cut and Paste at Abernathy Arts Center,” Burnaway, March 28, 2013
2012
Kate Abney, “One to Watch,” The Atlantan, December, 2012
Catherine Fox and Cynthia Bond Perry, “Augusta’s Westobou, a little fest with a big bang, offers
boldfaced talent and worthy surprises,” ArtsATL, October 2, 2012
E. Ashley Rooney, 100 Southern Artists, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., published August 28, 2012
2011
Catherine Fox, “Art review: Juried Georgia artists exhibition at Abernathy Arts Center,”
Access Atlanta, May 19, 2011
Rob Yates and Casey Sullivan, “Dayna Thacker, Suspending Disbelief,” News from The Fire House
Gallery, March, 2011
CD cover art: Stellarondo ©2011
Catalog cover art: Small Press Distribution, Spring 2011 Catalog
2010
Susannah Darrow and Laura Hennighausen, “Art Crush: Rich Gere and Dayna Thacker, an ultimate
art duo,” Burnaway, December 31, 2010
Jeremy Abernathy, review, Art Papers, September/October, 2010
Jeremy Abernathy, “Ways of Seeing Dayna Thacker’s Structure of Accumulation,” Burnaway,
July 26, 2010
Wyatt Williams, “Art Seen: Dayna Thacker at Barbara Archer,” Creative Loafing, Culture Surfing,
June 17, 2010
Felicia Feaster, “Caprice on Canvas,” The Atlantan, May/June 2010
Book cover: Museum of Thrown Objects, a book of poetry by Andrew K. Peterson, pub. 2010
Presentations/Guest Lectures
Florida State College, Jacksonville, 2021
University of Florida, Gainesville, 2014
Seek ATL, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013
Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013
Bobick Gallery, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia, 2013
Moon Gallery, Berry College, Rome, Georgia, 2011
Community Engagement
Curator, Weave Shed Gallery, The Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Georgia, 2013 - 2019
Board Member, Twin Kittens Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 2011 - 2013
Curator & Gallery Director, Gallery Stokes, Atlanta, Georgia, 2007 - 2010
Honors & Awards
• Finalist for Atlanta’s Forward Arts Foundation 2010 Emerging Artist Award, monetary award
• Fulton County Arts Council 2009 Residency Fellowship
• Residency at the Hambidge Center, September/October 2009, Rabun Gap, Georgia
• Studio Artist of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, 2008 – 2013, Atlanta, Georgia
• Invited guest of the Ossabaw Foundation as an Artist in Residence, Ossabaw, Georgia
Solo Exhibitions
2013 Theories of Everything, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
2011 Call and Response, Moon Gallery, Berry College, Rome, Georgia
The Weight of Attachment, The Fire House Gallery, Louisville, Georgia
2010 Pivots of Moment and the Structure of Accumulation, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
2009 Everyday Mythologies, Georgia College and State University Museum, Milledgeville, Georgia
2007 Taking A Stroll Through the Dark Night of the Soul, Gallery Stokes, Atlanta, Georgia
2004 Another Woman’s Treasure, Elysium Gallery, Savannah, Georgia
Cold Comfort, Steve Wiley Studios, Savannah, Georgia
2003 Nature Fetish Series, Tango, Savannah, Georgia
Selected Juried and Group Exhibitions
2022
Story Lines, Mary S. Byrd Gallery of Art at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
A Feminine View of Brotherhood, Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, Buckhead, Georgia
2021
private nature, group show, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Common Thread, three-person show, Florida State College, Jacksonville, Florida
2020
She Is Here, retrospective group show, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, Georgia
2017
Smoke, Mirrors, two-person show, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Light, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
2016
Works on Paper: 1980-2013 Women from the Permanent Collection, MOCA GA, Atlanta, Georgia
The New South, Kai Lin Art, Atlanta, Georgia
2014
Exquisite Walls, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Tiny Universe, Gallery@ Hotel Indigo, Athens, Georgia
Second Nature, Goat Farm Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Growth, Gallery Walk at Terminus, Atlanta, Georgia
southXeast: southeastern contemporary art, Schmidt Center Gallery, Florida Atlantic University
Molecular, Drain Magazine, Vol. 11:1, 2014. www.drainmag.com
Ossuary, Herron Galleries, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana
2013
Ossuary, University of Tennessee Downtown Gallery, Knoxville, Tennessee
Hambidge Great ARTdoors Festival, The Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Georgia
Cut and Paste: Contemporary Collage, Abernathy Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia
The World All Around, Gallery@ Hotel Indigo, Athens, Georgia
Gallery Culture, Gallery Walk at Terminus, Atlanta, Georgia
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Cut, Alter, Assemble, Bobick Gallery, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia
2012
re: Noun, Westobou Festival, Augusta, Georgia
Curator: Nancy Solomon
Tiny Universe, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Gallery 307, Athens, Georgia
Autumn Exhibition, CAS Fine Art Consulting, Savannah, Georgia
Wide Open 3, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, New York
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
The Price is Right, Swan Coach House, Atlanta, Georgia
2011
After Dark, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
Whistling in the Dark, 1704 Lincoln Gallery, Savannah, Georgia
Georgia Artists: Juried Exhibition, Abernathy Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Rivers, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
2010
Forward Arts Foundation Emerging Artists, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Hand to Hand, Chaffee Art Center, Rutland, Vermont
The Birds and Some Bees, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Art Papers Auction, Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
2009
Photo-Based, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
New American Paintings, 2009 Southern Edition, #82
Juror: Ron Platt, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Birmingham Museum of Art
Bibliography
2020
Featured artist on New South Finds by Linda Jerkins; newsouthfinds.com
2017
Melanie Jean, “‘Light’ at Wally Workman Gallery – Taking in all the varieties of gold in this polished group
show is akin to basking in sunlight on a bleak winter’s day,” The Austin Chronicle, December 8, 2017
Rebecca Brantley, “‘Smoke, Mirrors’ at Marcia Wood Gallery illustrates the importance of stewardship,”
ArtsATL, September 1, 2017
2014
Sherri Caudell, “Exquisite Exhibit: An Exercise in Collaboration at ACAC,” Burnaway, October 9, 2014
Jerry Cullum, “Review: Lively “exquisite corpses” in paint, video and sculpture from the
Contemporary’s studio artists,” ArtsATL, September 29, 2014
Jerry Cullum, “Last call: “Second Nature,” thoughtful and visually stunning group show at
Goat Farm, closes May 17,” ArtsATL, May 12, 2014
Florida Atlantic University, southXeast: Contemporary Southeastern Art, catalog, 2014
Karen Tauches, “Interview with Dayna Thacker,” Drain Magazine, Vol. 11:1, 2014. www.drainmag.com
2013
Heather Joyner Spica, “Review: Two New Shows at Räla and Downtown Gallery,”
MetroPulse, October 16, 2013
Jerry Cullum, “Review: Dayna Thacker’s sacred geometry, careful craft make for art
handsome and profound,” ArtsATL, April 2, 2013
Scott Daughtridge, “Review: Cut and Paste at Abernathy Arts Center,” Burnaway, March 28, 2013
2012
Kate Abney, “One to Watch,” The Atlantan, December, 2012
Catherine Fox and Cynthia Bond Perry, “Augusta’s Westobou, a little fest with a big bang, offers
boldfaced talent and worthy surprises,” ArtsATL, October 2, 2012
E. Ashley Rooney, 100 Southern Artists, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., published August 28, 2012
2011
Catherine Fox, “Art review: Juried Georgia artists exhibition at Abernathy Arts Center,”
Access Atlanta, May 19, 2011
Rob Yates and Casey Sullivan, “Dayna Thacker, Suspending Disbelief,” News from The Fire House
Gallery, March, 2011
CD cover art: Stellarondo ©2011
Catalog cover art: Small Press Distribution, Spring 2011 Catalog
2010
Susannah Darrow and Laura Hennighausen, “Art Crush: Rich Gere and Dayna Thacker, an ultimate
art duo,” Burnaway, December 31, 2010
Jeremy Abernathy, review, Art Papers, September/October, 2010
Jeremy Abernathy, “Ways of Seeing Dayna Thacker’s Structure of Accumulation,” Burnaway,
July 26, 2010
Wyatt Williams, “Art Seen: Dayna Thacker at Barbara Archer,” Creative Loafing, Culture Surfing,
June 17, 2010
Felicia Feaster, “Caprice on Canvas,” The Atlantan, May/June 2010
Book cover: Museum of Thrown Objects, a book of poetry by Andrew K. Peterson, pub. 2010
Presentations/Guest Lectures
Florida State College, Jacksonville, 2021
University of Florida, Gainesville, 2014
Seek ATL, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013
Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013
Bobick Gallery, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia, 2013
Moon Gallery, Berry College, Rome, Georgia, 2011
Community Engagement
Curator, Weave Shed Gallery, The Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Georgia, 2013 - 2019
Board Member, Twin Kittens Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 2011 - 2013
Curator & Gallery Director, Gallery Stokes, Atlanta, Georgia, 2007 - 2010
Honors & Awards
• Finalist for Atlanta’s Forward Arts Foundation 2010 Emerging Artist Award, monetary award
• Fulton County Arts Council 2009 Residency Fellowship
• Residency at the Hambidge Center, September/October 2009, Rabun Gap, Georgia
• Studio Artist of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, 2008 – 2013, Atlanta, Georgia
• Invited guest of the Ossabaw Foundation as an Artist in Residence, Ossabaw, Georgia