Inquisitive, Experimental, Emotive
David John Attyah is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. His practice is principally grounded in experimental drawing, though his mixed-media projects span printmaking, conceptual photography and installation. Attyah’s work focuses on the experience and complexity of queerness and explores ideas of male fragility, intimacy, stigma, eroticism and nostalgia. He was the founder and director of community art space PhlatPhile in Los Angeles from 2012 to 2016, and was co-founder of activist/artist collaborative THINK AGAIN (1997-2012). Attyah co-wrote the collaborative mural curriculum entitled “Retratos e Historias,” which debuted in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 2014 and was later adapted for the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s trans youth mural project, entitled “We Can Be Heroes.” He also co-produced DragAngeles with the LGBT Center, which appeared at the West Hollywood Public Library in 2016. Attyah’s most recent project, “The Museum of Selective Homo Amnesia,” appeared at the LGBT Center in 2022. His work has appeared in several national and international publications, including Artillery, Art/Text, The Progressive and Ms. magazine. He is completing a book, “A Mark for Every Body,” which reimagines drawing from life through a progressive lens of race and gender inclusion. His other titles include “A Brief History of Outrage” and “Daily Litanies for Sentient Beings.” He served as full-time professor and chair of the Department of Studio Arts at Glendale Community College (GCC) from 2005 to 2024, and was the director of The Art Gallery @ GCC from 2014 to 2020.