Dan Munkus is a process-driven painter and installation artist exploring the aesthetics of cognition, the effects of time on memory, and how contradictory creative approaches affect making and exhibiting work. The son of an engineer and an accountant, his work is almost always a conversation between his inherited sense of precision and practicality and his own desire for spiritual and creative freedom. Dan spent decades making music from almost every imaginable vantage point (composer, songwriter/singer, producer, engineer, sound designer). Formal elements in music like rhythm, repetition, as well as an awareness of the inner dynamics of live-performance are central to his artistic practice. His many years spent collaborating with artist ensembles across media types taught him many other performance-based creative strategies, all of which he leverages to rethink visual approaches. Dan holds a BFA in Fine Arts Practice from the University of California Berkeley, an MFA in Performance and Interactive Media Arts from Brooklyn College, and an M.A. in Studio Practice for Art Educators from Teachers College, Columbia University. He has exhibited extensively in New York City and the Hudson Valley, and performed music across the U.S. and internationally. He makes work out of Peekskill, NY where he lives with his beautiful wife and two daughters.
For information on pricing or other inquiries, please contact Dan at dmunkus@gmail.com

  • It turns out I like containers. Containers of light. Containers of information.

    My self is put into building the containers but absence is their defining feature. Even when there is form, it’s not meant to be formalized.

    My dad was an engineer, so measurement has always been important to me.

    My mom was an accountant, so I try to keep track of things.

    But I always lose count. 

    I am trying to trust the imperfection of perfect ideas.

    Vulnerability and strength seem to be related.

    I hope my containers can hold the information of others, even if only in passing.

  • Sofy Gallery, NY, NY - Memories of Now (group show) - July 23 - August 28, 2026

    North Eastern Philosophy of Education Society Conference - Presenter - Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, NY - October 10, 2026

    Macy Art Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, NY - Emotional Liminality (two person show with Emily Choi) - October 12 - November 5, 2026

  • Macy Art Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, NY - Capstone - July 20 - August 13, 2026

    BAU - Material Systems - Two Person Show with Rachel Dove - Feb. 14 - March 8, 2026

    ArtsWestchester - The Arts Exchange 2026 - Feb. 14 - April 12, 2026

    Kinosaito Community Art Benefit Show - Dec. 2025

    Primer - Macy Art Gallery - Group - Sept. 2 - Oct. 19, 2025

    Hendrick Hudson Free Library - Solo Exhibition - Sept. 4 - Sept. 29, 2025

    BAU Gallery - GRIT - Group - Aug 9 - Sept 7, 2025 - Winner - Two Person Show Awardee 2026

    John C. Hart Memorial Library - Solo Exhibition - March 2025

    Kinosaito Community Art Benefit Show - Dec. 2024

    Club Fit Jefferson Valley - Solo Show - Nov. 2024

    Super Secret Projects - Personal Protest - Group Show - Sept. 2024

    Polka Dot Deli - Oft Come Devil - Aug. 2024

    Kinosaito Community Art Benefit Show - Dec. 2023

    No Grudges - "I Need Somebody" - Aug. 2023 (co-engineer)

    The Atomic Boxer and Oh My Friend - Fist and Stone - June 2023

    Dan Munkus / John Jannone - The Edge of the High Trace (Animation by John Jannone) - Winner Best Experimental Animation at Experimental, Dance, and Music Film Festival, 2022

    Rachel Epp - "Cool Kids in the Cheap Seats" - June 2022 (composer, co-produced with Tommy White, engineer/mix engineer)

    Aviva Jaye - "So Close" - May 2022 (co-produced with Tommy White, engineer/mix engineer)

    Dan Munkus - "Joy Patterns" - Jan 2022

    Dan Munkus - The Edge of the High Trace - Nov. 2021

    Subtle Soup Records - 2013-2020 - Founder/Principal

    Old Robes / John Jannone - "Soldier Online" Animation - Winner Best Animation Feedback Experimental Film Festival

    Old Robes - The Spider and the Spectator - April 2018

    Robot Immigrants - My Heart is a Traveler - April 2013

    Old Robes - Past the Suitors - Nov. 2012

    The Nights Bears - Clytemnestra - Oct. 2012

    The Night Bears - Meat & Light - Sept. 2012

    Diverse Plots Ensemble - Diverse Plots - May 2012

    The Night Bears - Assumptions Made in the Dark - Dec. 2011

    Artsbridge Scholarship Recipient - Spring 2001