Stephen Dean (born in 1968 in France) is a Franco-American artist.
His entire body of work expresses a deep fascination with color. His watercolors, as well as his films and installations, are closely linked to the physiology and anthropology of color.
A continuous exploration of the relationship between light and perception, his polychromatic research blends the unexpected with imagination. By repurposing objects, simple forms, or existing situations, he focuses on the rhythm of color and its ability to precede language.
A self-taught artist, Dean began exhibiting in New York as part of the AIM program at the Bronx Museum and the Drawing Center Selection Spring in the mid-1990s. Since then, he has exhibited nationally and internationally. Notable recent museum exhibitions include: Villa e Collezione Panza in Varese, Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris, National Academy of Design in New York, Copenhagen Contemporary in Denmark, CAPC in Bordeaux, The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
His work has been featured in the Whitney Biennial, as well as the biennials of Seville, Istanbul, the 51st Venice Biennale, SITE Santa Fe Biennial, and the Moscow Biennale. In 2014, Rice University Public Art commissioned a permanent installation for the Anderson Clarke Center for Continuing Studies. In 2017, Dean completed a 21-meter permanent mural installation titled Crosswords, commissioned by Percent for Art / New York City Department of Cultural Affairs for a public school in Brooklyn, NY. In 2018, he received the Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant. His early watercolors on newspapers were the subject of a monograph published by Bandini Books in 2020.
His installation Crescendo, created for the apse of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, was commissioned by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux. Inaugurated in September 2024 and initially planned for one year, the installation has been extended until April 2025.
His works have joined the collections of the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris; Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain, Corsica; Musée d’Art Contemporain de Vitry-sur-Seine; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven; Blanton Museum of Art, Austin; RICE University Public Art program, Houston; Harvard University Art Museum, Cambridge; The Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga; Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro; Colección La Caixa, Barcelona; Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia; Israel Museum, Tel Aviv; Fundación Jumex, Mexico City; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
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Stephen Dean (né en 1968 en France) est un artiste franco-américain.
Toute son oeuvre exprime sa fascination pour la couleur. Ses aquarelles autant que ses films et ses installations sont liés à la physiologie et l’anthropologie de la couleur.
Permanente exploration des liens entre lumière et perception, sa recherche polychrome conjugue l’inattendu et l’imagination. Détournant des objets, des formes simples ou des situations existantes, il se concentre sur le rythme de la couleur et sa capacité à précéder le langage.
Artiste autodidacte, Dean a commencé à exposer à New York dans le cadre du programme AIM du Bronx Museum et du Drawing Center Selection Spring au milieu des années 1990. Depuis, il a exposé au niveau national et international ; parmi les expositions muséales notables récentes figurent : La Villa e Collezione Panza de Varese, La Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine à Paris, La National Academy of Design de New York, La Copenhagen Contemporary au Danemark, le CAPC à Bordeaux, The Phillips Collection à Washington D.C, le Los Angeles County Museum of Art, la National Gallery of Art de Washington D.C, le Musée du Quai Branly à Paris et le San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Ses œuvres ont été présentées dans les biennales de Whitney, Séville, Istanbul, à la 51e Biennale de Venise, à SITE Santa Fe Biennial et à la Biennale de Moscou. En 2014, Rice University Public Art lui a commandé une installation permanente pour le Anderson Clarke Center for Continuing Studies. En 2017, Dean a achevé une installation murale permanente de 21 mètres intitulée « Crosswords », commandée par le Percent for Art / New York City Department of Cultural Affairs pour une école publique à Brooklyn, NY. En 2018, il a reçu la bourse de la Fondation Peter S. Reed. Ses premières aquarelles sur journaux font l’objet d’une monographie publiée par Bandini Books en 2020.
Son installation Crescendo, pour le chevet de la Basilique Saint Denis a été commandée par le Centre des Monuments Nationaux. Inaugurée en Septembre 2024 et initialement prévue pour 1 an, l’installation a été prolongée jusqu’en avril 2025.
Ses oeuvres ont rejoint les collections du Fond National d’Art Contemporain, Paris ; Fond Régional d’Art Contemporain, Corse ; Musée d’Art Contemporain de Vitry- sur-Seine ; Guggenheim Museum, New York ; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York ; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C ; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa ; The Phillips Collection, Washington DC ; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven ; Blanton Museum of Arts, Austin ; RICE University Public Art program, Houston ; Harvard University Art Museum, Cambridge ; The Tang Museum, Skidmore college, Saratoga ; Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro ; Coleccion La Caixa, Barcelona ; Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, Valencia ; Israel Museum, Tel Aviv ; La Fundacion Jumex, Mexico City ; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
–
2025
Crescendo, Basilique de Saint Denis – Noirmont art production / Centre des monuments nationaux
2020
Morning comes without morning, Mouvements/rue Visconti, Paris
2019
Rehearsal with Props, Casa Triangulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Enigma of Arrival, Hermès Iguatemi, Sao Paulo, Brazil
ROPE, FRAC Corsica, Corte
2017
Crosswords, NYC Percent for Art / Department of Cultural Affairs, PS/IS 338, Brooklyn, NY ( permanent installation )
2016
Ameringer McEnery Yohe, New York, NY
2015
How Far Is Red, SWATCH, Zurich Flughafen, Switzerland
2014
Ladder descending a staircase, Anderson-Clarke Center for Continuing Studies, Rice University, Houston, TX ((permanent
installation )
Jugglers, Ameringer McEnery Yohe, New York, New York
Chaos of color, McClain Gallery, Houston, Texas
Jugglers, Casa Triangulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2013
Works on Paper and Edges, Baldwin gallery, Aspen, Colorado
2011
Fever, Centro Cultural Koldo Mitxelena, San Sebastian, Spain
2010
Fever, Le Chateau d’Eau, Bourges, France
Trampolines, Ecole Superieure d’Art et Media, Caen, France
2009
Watercolors & videos, Baldwin gallery, Aspen, Colorado
Sara Meltzer gallery, New York, NY
Obra Reciente, Galeria Max Estrella, Madrid, Spain
2008
Countdown, Casa Triangulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Miniature, Tokyo Wonder Site institute of Contemporary Art, Japan
2007
Angle of bending, Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO
Silent Pictures, Sara Meltzer gallery, New York, NY
No More Bets, Galeria Max Estrella, Madrid, Spain
2006
VOLTA, Miami Art Museum, FL
Grand Prix, Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
Exit Contemporary Art Institute, Peja, Kosovo
2005
Stephen Dean, Museum of Fine Arts of Santander, Spain
2004
Galerie Xippas, Athenes, Greece
2003
VOLTA, Henry Urbach Architecture, New York, NY
Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
2001
PULSE, Henry Urbach Architecture, New York, NY
PULSE, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC
Marcel Sitcoske Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2000
Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
1999
Hales Gallery, London, England
Marcel Sitcoske Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1998
Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
1997
Galerie Cohn-Edelstein, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1995
Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
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GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Nel Tempo, Villa e Collezione Panza, Varese
Il était une fois les stades, Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, Paris
Crosswords, Works from the Panza collection, Osart gallery, Milan
Nikos Alexiou. The Collection, Benaki Museum, Athens
2023
Drawing as practice, curated by Sara Reisman and Natalia Viera Salgado, National Academy of Design, New York, NY
I am the bridge between what is and what coule be, curated by Y. Melike Yürekli, Elgyz Museum, Istanbul
2022
What is the proper way to display a flag ? curated by Ingo Clauß, Weserburg Museum für Moderne Kunst, Bremen
Art of the Terraces, curated by Pauline Rushton, Walker Art gallery, National Museums Liverpool
Building the beautiful gameDesign, Design Museum, London
2021
Affinités Insolites, curated by Jean Hubert Martin, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
Humano más humano, curated by Nimfa Bisbe, La Fundación “La Caixa” @ Fundación Barrié, La Coruna
Art of Sport, curated by Marie Nipper, Copenhagen Contemporary
2020
Le cours des choses, curated by Alice Motard and Sandra Patron, CAPC, Musée d’ art contemporain de Bordeaux
2018
The World’s Game, curated by Franklin Sirmans, Perez Art Museum Miami, FL
Rose Ocean: Living with Duchamp, curated by Ian Berry, Tang Museum at Skidmore college, NY
Naturel pas Naturel, curated by Anne Alessandri and Philippe Costamagna, Palais Fesch Musée des Beaux-Arts d’ Ajaccio
En voiture, artistes de la collection des Abattoirs, Musée/FRAC, Lézignan-Corbières
2017
Zoo Machine, curated by Thierry Ollat, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Marseille
Round Colors, Monteverita, Paris
Sans Réserve, Parcours de la collection du MacVaL, Vitry sur Seine
Smell of Malaga, Perceptiones olfativas de coleccion olorVISUAL, Museo Municipal de Malaga
Fever, MOVIMENTA / Facade du Theatre National de Nice
2016
Coleccion olorVISUAL, curated by Nekane Aramburu, Es Baluard, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Palma, Spain
Slow Dimwitted Carnage, Coustof Waxman gallery, New York, NY
Radiant Space, McClain gallery, Houston, TX
Matin Midi Soir, curated by Laure Flammarion, Honoré Visconti , Paris
Black & White & Red All Over, curated by Sara Reisman, Galerie L’Inlassable, Paris
Tropicalia, L’Inlassable Museum, Paris
2015
The Museum Imagined, curated by Lilly Wei, Danese Corey gallery, New York, NY
Nature/Nurture, curated by Ron Platt, Grand Rapids Art Museum, MI
Arquitecturas y Espacios en la Collecion RAC, Centro Cibeles, Madrid, Spain
IRIS Time, L’ Inlassable Museum, New York, NY
(647912), L’ Inlassable galerie, New York, NY
2014
Futbol: The Beautiful Game, curated by Frankin Sirmans, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
FAIRPLAY, curated by Cristina Perrella, Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo, Rome
Art=Text+Art, Works from the Kramarsky Collection, UB Anderson gallery, University of Buffalo, NY
LIGHT3, curated by Lilly Wei, Fridman gallery, New York, NY
Honoré, curated by Laure Flammarion & Pauline Leveque, Rue Visconti, Paris
Rumor…decolonials, curated by Suset Sanchez, Collecion La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain
Casa Triangulo No Pivo, Copan Building, Sao Paolo, Brazil
2013
Junkies’ promises, curated by Ivan Navarro, Paul Kasmin gallery, New York, NY
Art=Text=Art, Works from the Kramarsky Collection, The Hafnarfjordur Center of Fine Art, Iceland
Celestial, McClain Gallery, Houston, Texas
2012
Shock of the news, curated by Judith Brodie, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Audience as Subject, curated by Betti-Sue Hertz, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Art=Text=Art, Works from the Kramarsky Collection, Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ
Targets, curated by Claude d’Anthenaise, Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris,
Les Maitres du Désordre, curated by Jean de Loisy, Musee du quai Branly, Paris
2011
Contemporary Art in the Traditional Museum, Pro Arte foundation / Russian Ethnographic Museum, St.Petersurg
Art=Text=Art, Works from the Kramarsky Collection, Richmond University Museum, VA
Car Fetish, I drive therefore I am, curated by Roland Wetzel, Tinguely Museum, Basel, Switzerland
Mary Poppins is a junkie, ShowRoom Gallery, New York, NY
Grande Image Lab, curated by Christophe Domino, Nuit Blanche, Paris, France
L’ Art est un sport de combat, curated by Jean-Marc Huitorel, Musée des Beaux Arts de Calais, France
2010
The Jewel Thief, curated by Jessica Stockholder & Ian Berry, Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY
I Mutanti, curated by Eric de Chassey, Villa Medici, Rome, Italy
Coleccion Premios Altadis, curated by Maria and Lorena Del Corral, La Lonja, Alicante, Spain
Cromocronias, Centro José Guerrero, Granada, Spain
One Shot, curated by Pierre-Olivier Rollin, B.P.S.22 Charleroi, Belgium
2009
Against Exclusion, curated by Jean Hubert Martin, 3rd Moscow Biennial, Garage for Contemporary Culture, Moscow
Talking Pictures, curated by Laura Steward, SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico
Wintry, Magazzino d’ Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy
AUTO, Dream and Matter, curated by Alberto Martin, Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo de Madrid, Spain
Inner space / other space, curated by Simon Watson The Bunker Artspace, Miami
Fantastic Voyage, Peter Piper Pictures, Redhook, NY
2008
Double Down: Two Visions of Las Vegas, curated by Henry Urbach, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Into the trees, curated by Lilly Wei, Art OMI, Ghent, NY
Plus de realité, Le Hangar a Bananes, Nantes, France
Landerspiel, Museum Moderner Kunst Kaernten, Klagenfurt, Austria
2007
Mouth Open, Teeth Showing, Major works from the True Collection, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington
20th anniversary show, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, New York,
Esquiador en el fondo de un pozo, curated by Michel Blanc-Sube, La Coleccion Jumex, Mexico
Building Spills and Spins Past Midnight, Galerie Les Filles du Calvaires, Brussels
2006
Stillpoints of the Turning World, curated by Klaus Ottman, Site Santa Fe Biennial, New Mexico
New York Interrupted, curated by Dan Cameron, PKM gallery, Beijing, China
Ball the Wall, David Risley Gallery, London, England
The Beautiful Game, curated by Franklyn Sirmans & Trevor Schoonmaker, Roebbling Hall Gallery, New York, New York
La Force de l’art, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Human Game, curated by Francesco Bonami and Stefano Tonchi, Fondazione Pitti, Florence, Italy
L’ Inde dans tous les sens, curated by Hervé Mikaeloff, L’Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris
Art and Football, curated by Alfons Hug, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2005
Always a Little Further, curated by Rosa Martinez, Arsenal, 51st International Venice Biennial, Italy
Facade projections, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Roundleather world, curated by Harald Szeeman, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany
War is over, Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy
Paris in Shanghai, curated by Jean-Luc Monterosso, Shanghai Museum of Fine Art, China
Parilla, curated by Ivan Navarro, Centro Cultural Matucana 100, Santiago, Chili
Airborne, Henry Urbach Architecture, New York, New York
Double Vision, curated by Maria Rosa Sossai, Magazzino d’Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy
2004
The Joy of my Dreams, curated by Harald Szeeman, 1st International Biennial of Sevilla, Spain
Open House, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York
Prix Altadis, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris / Elba Benitez, Madrid, Spain
The Human Condition, The Dream of a Shadow, Museo d’Historia, Barcelona
Multitudes, Fond Regional d’Art Contemporain Corse, France
2003
Poetic Justice, curated by Dan Cameron, 8th Istanbul Biennial, Turkey
Living with Duchamp, curated by Ian Berry, Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
The Stadium, Muro Sur: Contemporary Art Gallery, Santiago, Chili
Post-Impact, curated by Georges Armaos, Collection Portalakis, Athenes, Greece
Nuit Blanche, curated by Noelle Chabert, Musée Zadkine, Paris, France
2002
Whitney Biennial, curated by Larry Rinder, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
The Theory of Leisure, curated by Dan Cameron, La Coleccion Jumex, Mexico
Nao e cinema, nao e televisao e nem e video, Capacete Entertainments, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Déplacements, curated by Dominique Abensour, Le Quartier, Quimper, France
Exotisme, vu d’ici, vues d’aileurs, Fond Regional d’Art Contemporain Corse
2000
Finely Drawn, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, North Carolina
1998
Wall paper, Nicolas Davis Gallery, New York New, New York
Hales Gallery, London, England
1997
Paolo Baldacci Gallery, New York, New York
Oeuvres du FNAC, Musée de Grenoble, France
1996
Walk on the Soho Side, curated by Marc Pottier, New York, New York
Guillaume Galozzi Gallery, New York, New York
Autour de Cercle et Carré, Maison des Arts Georges Pompidou, Cajarc, France
1995
Selection Spring’ 95, The Drawing Center, New York, New York
Avant-garde Walk in Venezia, curated by Marc Pottier, Venice
1994
Crash, curated by Tom Zummer, Thread Waxing Space, New York, New York
Friends, 55 Mercer St. Gallery, New York, New York
Possible Things, curated by Vik Muniz, Bardamu Gallery, New York, New York
Artists in the Marketplace, Bronx Museum for the Arts, New York, New York
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FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS
2016
ARTE Video Night, Maison Européenne de la Photo, Paris
2015
Videos d’ Artiste #8, Stephen Dean & Anne Deleporte, Maison Européenne de la Photo, Paris
2012
ARTE Video Night, Palais de Tokyo, Paris – ARTE TV, Germany / France
2011
Stephen Dean painter/film-maker, ARTE TV, Germany / France
Initiation to Mystery, Soirées Nomades, Fondation Cartier, Paris
2010
ARTE Video Night, Petit Palais, Paris – ARTE TV, Germany / France
2009
Cutting the edge, Miami international film festival, , Florida
2006
Histoires courtes, France 2 TV , France
2005
L’experience metisse, Auditorium du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
2004
In Progress, Locarno International Film Festival, Locarno, Switzerland
Situations construites, Attitudes, Geneva, Switzerland
Festival Art Rock, Saint Brieuc, France
Exhibition, ARTE TV Germany/France
2003
Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland
Rencontres International Paris/Berlin, Arsenal, Berlin, Germany
2002
Corto Circuito, Short-film festival, Naples, Italy « Best European short film »
Festival du court métrage en plein air de Grenoble, France « Jury’s special mention »
International Film Festival, Athens, Greece
Festival du Film d’Aubagne, France « Best documentary »
Filmvideo, Festival de Montecatini, Pistoia, Italy « Best photography »
International Art Film Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia « Golden Key – Artefacts »
International Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
International short film Festival, La Ciotat, France
International Film Festival of Fine Arts, Szolnok, Hungary
Bilbao International Film Festival, Spain « Best documentary »
2001
Festival International du Film d’Art, Montréal, Canada
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PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.
National gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
Blanton Museum of Arts, Austin, Texas
Harvard University Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts
The Tang Museum, Skidmore college, Saratoga Springs, New York
The Benaki Museum, Athens
Elgiz Museum, Istanbul
Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris, France
Fond Regional d’Art Contemporain, Corse, France
Musée d’Art Contemporain de Vitry-sur-Seine, France
Coleccion La Caixa, Barcelona, Madrid
Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
La Fundacion Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, North Carolina
Musée des Abattoirs, FRAC Occitanie, Toulouse
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
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AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
Peter S. Reed foundation grant, New York, NY
CEC Artslinks grant, Pro Arte Foundation, St Petersburg, Russia
Rome prize, Académie de France, Villa Medici, Italy
Tokyo Wonder Site Institute of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Altadis prize, Spain / France
Travel grant, Diyarbakyr, Turkey – US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Artists in the Marketplace fellowship, Bronx Museum, NY