Damien Hoar de Galvan was born in 1979 in Northampton and grew up in Beverly, MA. He was raised in a creative household and spent his childhood playing sports. He learned a lot about materials and tools from his father, who was a carpenter. Hoar de Galvan attended Green Mountain College and graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor's degree in Behavioral Science. After graduation, he briefly moved to Portland, OR, and started a painting practice. In 2008, he graduated with a Post-Baccalaureate certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.  

In the beginning of his career, he was influenced by modernism and focused primarily on oil painting on canvas before enrolling in classes at the Museum School. It was there that he started working with wood, the medium he is known for today, supplementing his sculpture practice with drawing and collage. While his drawings sometimes feature elements of text, his work is predominantly abstract. Hoar de Galvan is a process-based artist: he constructs small, intricate sculptures made of recycled, salvaged, or found wood scraps that are cut, painted, and reassembled using glue. The decision to work with used wood is an aesthetic choice: even when left raw, the material will bear the signs of its former life and may serve as a point of departure for a sculpture. 

Hoar de Galvan's process starts with an impulse or idea that may come to take many iterations in his mind (he almost never sketches). He then selects a scrap that appeals to him in the moment and starts building. He says that every so often, he will be able to fit two accidental wood pieces together without any intervention, a sort of gift he likes to take. From then onward, the bricolage becomes intuitive, with Hoar de Galvan stepping back once visual or structural problems arise. The titles appear at different moments of creation: before, during, or after, and may change later. Hoar de Galvan is conscious of ways a title can influence perception or meaning of the work, but sometimes, a title works perfectly. 

Hoar de Galvan's art practice is a response to the contradictions and frustrations of our modern world. Outside of his studio, he likes to walk, play soccer and hockey, and spend time with his family. Hoar de Galvan is the 2025 recipient of the James and Audrey Foster Prize from the ICA Boston, curated by Tessa Bachi Haas.

Photo: Michael Cestaro