Dara Weyna is an artist who maintains a home studio in the northern Colorado front range. She works in a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, printmaking, crochet and collage. Born in Chicago, Dara received her BA in Studio Art with minors in Art History and French in 2005 from Northeastern Illinois University. Post-graduation, Dara worked for prominent art collectors, galleries and museums in Chicago as a picture framer, as well as managing exhibitions for emerging and mid-career artists in Evanston, IL. She developed a thriving studio practice in the historic Cornelia Arts Building before moving to Napa, CA in 2007 where she spent the next 13 years juggling motherhood, art markets, classes and many other collaborations before relocating to Colorado in 2020.
EDUCATION:
2005 BA, summa cum laude, Studio Art & Art History, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
2022 Wearing All the Hats, professional practice course for artists
2021 Artist/Mother Network crit group (mentor: Lauren Scott Corwin)
2020 Artist/Mother Network crit group (mentor: Barbara Campbell Thomas)
1993-95 University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
1992 Sorbonne Université, Paris, France (French language courses)
1991-92 McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL
TEACHING:
2016-18 Part-time Faculty, Stone Bridge School, Napa, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2024. Featured Artist Of The Month, WAYWARD, Fort Collins, CO
2023 Featured Artist Of The Month, Locust Taproom, Fort Collins, CO
2022 Fifty Turns Around the Sun, Art Lab, Fort Collins, CO
2021 Modern Landscapes, Clearview Library, Windsor, CO
2020 Colors of California, Fumé Bistro, Napa, CA
2019 Abstract Cuts, Bloom Salon and Gallery, Napa, CA
2017 Print Show, Molinari Caffe, Napa, CA
2005 Magnified Nexus, Senior Thesis Show, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2025 UPLIFT, Art and Heritage Center, Windsor, CO (curated by Chris Bates, artist)
2025 Get Out Of My Bush, Edge Gallery, Denver, CO (curated by Lisa Korte, artist)
2025 COLOR 2025, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO *Honorable Mention
2023 COLOR 2023, 3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO
2023 Rocky Mountain Triennial, Fort Collins Museum of Art, Fort Collins, CO (Juror: Merry Scully )
2022 Capsule, sketchbooks by women, Basalt Regional Library, CO (curated by Shawna Miller, artist)
2022 Audacity, The Roaring Artist Gallery, (Juror: Marrin Lee Martinez, artist) online exhibition
2022 Painting at Night, Collar Works, Troy, NY (Juror: Judith Braun, artist),
2022 Still, Stay Home Gallery, Paris, TN (curated by Kaylan Buteyn and Pam Taylor)
2021 Painting at Night, Artlink Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN (Juror: Melanie Cooper Pennington)
Personifying Pleasure, Stay Home Gallery, (curated by Katelyn Keane), online exhibition
2019 Napa MAKES, The Oxbow School, Napa, CA
Meet The Makers, GUILD Studio, Napa, CA
2018 Napa MAKES, The Oxbow School, Napa, CA
2006 Chicago Artists, Cornelia Arts Building, Chicago, IL
Bricolages, Gallery Mornea, Evanston, IL (curated by David Gista)
2005 Artists Invite Artists, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
In The Cut, Union Square Lofts, Chicago, IL (curated by Doug Frohman)
2004 Student Group Show, NEIU, Chicago IL, (juror: Diane Simpson, artist, Chicago, IL)
1992 Student Drawing Show, McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL (1st place Purchase Award)
COMMISSIONS:
2024. Don Enersto Winery, custom wine label, Napa, CA
2022-23 Seven Stones Winery, custom wine label, BC, Canada
2021 Onward Wines, custom wine label, Napa, CA
COLLECTIONS:
Windsor, CO
Mercurey, France
Woodstock, IL
Galena, IL
Chicago, IL
Stowe, VT
Fort Wayne, IN
Napa, CA
McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL