D’Amato’s practice explores the convergence of craftsmanship and memory through decoration and personalization, examining how techniques like hand lettering, pinstriping, and custom paint can transform functional objects into carriers of identity, emotion, and cultural resonance. Rooted in the traditions of sign writing and shaped by a deep familial legacy, her work draws from disciplines historically tied to vehicles, using them to investigate how ordinary forms become repositories of lived experience. By engaging with vintage automobiles and sourcing rare, archival materials, she preserves and reactivates traditional methods while integrating them into a contemporary context.

Rose D’Amato (b. 1991, Whittier, CA) is a pinstriper and painter living and working in San Francisco, CA. As a second-generation sign maker, she is drawn to decorative folk arts, hand-lettering, and the iconic imagery tied to her upbringing and direct experience pinstriping and lettering on lowriders. She is motivated by her intention to learn and implement techniques of handmade modes of production and by doing so explore her artistic lineage. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute and received a BFA in painting in 2016 and afterwards apprenticed and worked at New Bohemia Signs. D’Amato continues to work independently as a painter and has been the Adjunct Professor of Hand lettering at California College of the Arts since 2019. Currently, she is the Headlands Center for the Arts Tournesol Awardee for 2023–2024. She is currently working towards upcoming projects at Gallery 16, BAMPFA, Charlie James Gallery and House of Seiko.

Her work is in the permanent collections of institutions including the UC Santa Barbara Art, Design & Architecture Museum.