ABOUT THE ARTIST
Dyah Neilson (b. 1996 Nassau, The Bahamas) graduated from Queen's College High School in 2013 and from York University, Toronto, Canada with a BFA in Visual Arts in 2018, after which she returned to The Bahamas. While in high school, she received the top score for the Art BJC (2008) and BGCSE (2012) examinations in the country, and received the Governor General's Choice Award in the Annual Central Bank Competition in 2009. She participated in her first craft show ETSY: Made in Canada (2017) in Toronto and since returning to The Bahamas in 2019, she has taken part in group exhibitions at Doongalik, the Chan Pratt Foundation, and The Current. Neilson held her first solo exhibition Love & Fear (2019) at Doongalik Studios in Nassau, Bahamas.
Preferring fast drying mediums, she works in acrylic paint and coloured pencil, and her use of a dry brush technique allows her to build up layers of colour while keeping a relatively flat surface. Neilson is deeply inspired by nature, natural and social histories, and the symbolism and metaphors that are ingrained in these histories. She uses symbolism in her portraits to explore the complexities of spirituality, relationships and femininity.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2018 Bachelor of Fine Arts, York University, Toronto, Ontario
Major in Visual Arts
Solo Exhibitions
2019 Love and Fear, Doongalik Studios Art Gallery, Nassau, Bahamas
Group Exhibitions
2022 Five, Tern Gallery, Nassau, Bahamas
2022 Salt & Earth, The D’Aguilar Art Foundation, Nassau, Bahamas
2021 Overhead Bin, The Current Baha Mar Gallery & Art Center, Nassau, Bahamas
2019 Refuge, The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
2019 Small Works, The Current Baha Mar Gallery & Art Center, Nassau, Bahamas
2019 Young Artists of The Bahamas, Doongalik Studios Art Gallery, Nassau, Bahamas
2019 Chan Pratt Inspiration, Sapodilla Restaurant and Bar, Nassau, Bahamas
2018 Tell Them We’re Here, Gallery 1313, Toronto, Ontario
2017 Tell Them We’re Not Here… Yet, Special Projects Gallery, York University, Toronto, Ontario
Awards
2008 Bahamas Junior Certificate for Art
2009 Governor General’s Choice Award | Central Bank of the Bahamas Annual Art Competition
2012 Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education for Art
Bibliography
2013 The Minstrel, Redeemer University College Creative and Interpretive Arts Fall 2013
2014 The Minstrel, Redeemer University College Creative Arts Magazine 2014
2017 Smith & Benjamin’s Bahamian Art & Culture eMagazine Issue No. 312
2017 Smith & Benjamin’s Bahamian Art & Culture eMagazine Issue No. 319
2018 Smith & Benjamin’s Bahamian Art & Culture eMagazine Issue No. 355
Collections
Central Bank of the Bahamas
Private Collection, Nassau, The Bahamas
Private Collection, Hope Town, Abaco, The Bahamas
Private Collection, Toronto, Ontario
Private Collection, California, USA