David Antonio Cruz explores the intersectionality of queerness and race through painting, sculpture, and performance. Focusing on queer, trans, and gender fluid communities of color, Cruz examines the violence perpetrated against their members, conveying his subjects both as specific individuals and as monumental signifiers for large and urgent systemic concerns.

Cruz (b.1974, Philadelphia, PA) received his BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute, NY and his MFA from Yale University, CT. He attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and completed the AIM Program at the Bronx Museum, New York. His work is in the collections of the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK; Tufts University, Medford, MA; El Museo Del Barrio, New York, NY; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; 21c Museum Hotels, Louisville, KY; and Pierce & Hill Harper Arts Foundation, Detroit, MI. Cruz lives and works in New York City where he is the Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at Columbia University. Recent residencies and fellowships include the LMCC Workspace Residency, New York (2015); Gateway Project Spaces, Newark, NJ (2016); BRIC Workspace Residency, Brooklyn (2018); Neubauer Faculty Fellowship, Tufts University, Boston (2018); and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Award (2018). Cruz is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery.