CHRISTOPHER PAUL DEAN

Artist’s Statement
Inspiration for my work is two-fold. On one side, I am interested in formal qualities such as colour, pattern, scale, texture and the presentation/experiencing of these elements. And on the other side, I am interested in the potential of readymade, everyday familiar items being utilised as or for Art. The introduction of the readymade is crucial because not only does it encourage me to observe objects and scenarios in which the aforementioned formal qualities exist in our everyday lives, it also introduces the subject of Ontology – the philosophical study of being, becoming, or existence – into my practice. Over the last few years, I have gravitated towards universally utilised symbols associated with standardised accident prevention. With a focus on appropriating the visual lexicon of safety markers, including caution stripes and barricade patterns, I engage in varying degrees of material manipulation to create work that utilises reconfiguration as a device to disrupt and expand upon pre-existing modes of existence. The deconstructive/reconstructive nature of my work not only results in a disruption of formal qualities – such as texture, colour, material, and scale – this approach also disturbs body-to-object interactions by altering the intended function of each readymade. In turn, both these elements provide a platform in which the consideration of past, current, and future interactions with the familiar comes into focus.

Biography
Christopher Paul Dean was born an hour north of London in Milton Keynes, England. Dean has an Undergraduate Degree in Contemporary Applied Arts from the University of Hertfordshire (England), and a Masters Degree in Sculpture from The Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. Since 2010 Dean has worked as an Artist Assistant in Denmark (Folk Art School, Holbæk), Detroit (Cranbrook Academy of Art), Atlanta (artist Bojana Ginn) and Mexico (U.S Consulate, Monterrey). Dean currently lives and works in Dallas, and is lead studio assistant to multimedia Artist Gabriel Dawe.

Dean has been featured in multiple publications including Artvoices Magazine, Studio Visit, Looking at Painting and 101 Contemporary Artists. Dean has exhibited in numerous locations including London, NYC, Dallas, multiple locations in GA and in 2017 showed work at UNTITLED as part of Art Basel Miami Beach.