Dane Cory | Managing Control and Impulse Through Art

About Dane Cory

Dane Cory has always been overwhelmed by the world and its volume. Being diagnosed with BPD in 2014, he struggled to find a way to defeat his demons until he finally discovered art as therapy.

“I am grateful to all the people who have helped me get to where I am today. I want to extend a special thanks to my wife, who, without, I would not be here today. I still find life overwhelming at times, but with the love and support I have, I have proven to myself that life can be beautiful, along with its inherent pain. Through my openness and dedication, I hope my art and story can connect with others in a way that transcends past just me.”

Today, Dane can see himself not as broken but as someone who asked for an extra guiding hand.

Let’s start from the basics. Where have you grown up?

Hello there, my name is Dane, and I was born in Philly, where I lived from birth until I turned six years old. I moved to San Diego up to the age of twelve, then moved all over NJ until my twenties. I have lived in a dozen states and am currently back in Philly with plans to move to Seattle with my wife!

When or how have you understood you wanted to become an artist?

I originally wanted to be a cartoonist as a young child. Drawing gave me peace of mind in a very unsettling household. In my early adulthood, though, I was diagnosed with BPD and found abstract art as a form of therapy. That has been my purpose ever since. I also wish to inspire and connect with those struggling with mental illness.

Please briefly describe your technique and tell us what drives you to make art.

I am a perfectionist with a chaotic brain. I have a side of me that tries to categorize all aspects of life neatly. Then I have the side that wants to destroy it all wildly. I put these concepts into my abstract work with perfect lines and shapes mixed with spontaneous motions and swipes.

What is the main feature that has changed in your works or practice throughout the years?

I used to only dabble in ink and marker on paper. I spent a year only painting on canvas after I felt very depressed and bored with my work. That year changed my life; now, my art is a fusion of ink and paint. It combines my precise penwork and the more fluid painting style I learned in my experimental year.

Which artist primarily inspires your work? And is there something else, outside visual arts, that keeps you motivated?

At first, I didn’t know much about art and did not take consciously from any artists. I realized, though, years into my work, after people commented on the similarities between artists like Kandinsky or the Bauhaus movement and me, that I genuinely have these influences in my blood without realizing it. I also feel incredibly inspired by music when I create. There is no one genre in specific, but the sounds unlock parts of my brain that are unreachable without these influences. I can see the music in my mind and try to recreate what I feel in my art.

How would you like people to engage with your work?

I want to hear people’s stories of how they overcame some massive psychological obstacle and how my art connects with that part of them. Even if they are currently in hell, I want them to relate to the hell I put onto paper and know they are not alone.

Spread the word! Do you have anything exciting on the horizon?

My website is where my artwork is for sale and displayed. There is a great deal about me and my life there.