Born in Paris, France
Born from an American father and a French mother, Dean studied art in Paris and Los Angeles before settling in New York to work. The material Stephen Dean uses in his work is something that already exists,expert at all types of conversions,
he seeks to add another visual rhythm to the objects that he
recycles. Whether they are flags cut up and reassembled, crossword
grids covered
in coloured squares, paperbacks stacked upright against a wall in monochrome
piles, or tartan rugs with extra highlights, the Franco-American painter
transcends the commonplace in his painterly investigations focusing on colour, giving them a visual regularity and another way of viewing them. The same technique is also applied to plaid fabric, some of the squares he covers with a paint, doubling the chromatic contrast with a contrast of material.
Museum for Contemporary Art in New York, Center of the Arts, Columbus, Ohio
