Dan Perino is an artist and performance artist from Greenwich Village, New York. He began painting at age 4. When his mother noticed his keen interest, she provided him with a better set of painting supplies, which Dan took seriously, working to copy the images of artists like Picasso as he grew up.

In his 20s, he moved to New York City, where he supported himself as a designer, professional painter, and skilled faux finish painter/plasterer. He continued to develop his interest in the “realism” style of art.

About 10 years ago, Dan started working in the style of drip painting, inspired by artists like Jackson Pollock, a pioneer of this technique.

Around the same time, Dan began a performance art project titled “Looking For A Girlfriend,” a social experiment in which he posted hundreds of thousands of flyers with a photo of himself and the words “Looking For A Girlfriend” in bold print. Though social media was still in its infancy, he talked to, texted with, and met hundreds of women each year, receiving thousands of responses monthly.

The experiment in its original form lasted several years, garnering extensive media attention, interviews, and media appearances. As an aspiring actor, Dan used this opportunity to hone his media skills, often making up stories and playing along with interviewers and media hosts, both for sport and to elicit social reactions. In his words, “You need to challenge to find answers, and to do this, you need to evoke reactions.”

Dan estimates that he received over 500,000 responses in the first few years, but now, through social media, both in the U.S. and abroad, including emails and views of interviews he has given, he estimates the number is probably closer to 3 million worldwide.

Self-aware, Dan admits that before his leap into performance art, he had what he calls “a mediocre life,” a term he enjoys, along with the words “morphing” and “mammoth.”

After a hiatus from the press and attention, Dan has launched a new performance project titled “Looking For The Perfect Woman.” He describes this new venture as “a mammoth undertaking,” using one of his favorite words. While he is not ready to reveal his end goal, he assures the world, “It will be good.”