Dominick Cocozza (b. 2001, Mazatenango, Guatemala) is a Guatemalan American artist of Maya Tz’utujil heritage based in Arlington, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in June 2024. Much of Cocozza’s artistic practice speaks to his transracial adoptee identity by shedding light on adoptee narratives, Indigenous ancestry, and themes of reclamation. His works invite viewers into a speculative worldbuilding orbit that forges cultural celebration, romance, and Latinx belonging. 

 

Cocozza’s works have been included in group exhibitions at the Southampton History Museum in Southampton, NY; The Pantheon Institute in Rome, Italy; Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC; The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC; United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC; Junior High LA in Los Angeles, CA; Woods Gerry Gallery in Providence, RI; RISD Museum Gelman Gallery in Providence, RI; Providence Art Club in Providence, RI; 82Parris Gallery in Portland, ME; Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery in Glen Echo, MD; The Cherokee Town & Country Club Art Collection Space in Atlanta, GA; Radford University Art Museum in Radford, VA and the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. 

 

His works have been published in CNN, BBC News, Voice of America (VOA), Arlington Magazine, and Prensa Libre Guatemala. Most recently he received the Highly Commended Award Scholarship from The National Society of Arts and Letters Washington, DC chapter and the Florence Leif Award sponsored by the RISD Painting Department. Forthcoming artist residencies include September at the Vermont Studio Center (VSC) in Johnson, VT, and December at Ma’s House on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton, NY.