Renee Dahl is a narrative painter who  takes a hyper-realistic approach to her subject matter, often mixing irreverence and surrealism in her story lines. She was born in Stockholm to a Finnish mother with artistic talents of her own and a Swedish father who spent many years as an engineer and designed the concrete highway dividers that prevented vehicles from accidentally crossing into oncoming traffic. When she was five years old her father moved the family to the United States,  where they first moved to the midwest, before settling on Long Island's South Shore.

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Renee graduated from Cornell University, where she studied Astrophysics, and Painting with colorist Gillian Pederson Krag and photorealist James Valerio. She then moved to SoHo  where her fascination with the cultural impact of Barbie shaped her early career. She showed successfully in numerous galleries in the city, portraying the timeless Barbie doll in life sized scenarios as American Iconography, both ominous and comedic.

 

Over the years there were many themes in the work, all of which has brought her full circle to her love of physics and space. As a child she recalls lying in bed for hours, trying to see new colors, later realizing that the limitations were due to human physiology.

 

Recently Renee received a patent for what was initially conceived of as an acoustic Forcefield generator, for blocking road and landscaping noise. With implications well beyond the original purpose. Patent #..... 

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Barbie continues to be a happy place for Renee.

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The Best Art is Science and the Best Science is Art.