John Dean
Studio 7&8
"I've never seen so much nothing..." commented a college classmate of mine after driving from Connecticut to Iowa, and he hadn't even seen Kansas yet.
My midwest, the landscapes and the light of Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and my home state of Iowa, are my continuing source of subject matter and revitalization. Seeing the overlooked scene with a selective eye may reveal a glimpse of the essential just beneath the surface.
The fields and structures, woods and skies, the changing light and passing seasons create endless variety on the flat plains and rolling hills of the midwest. The light is fleeting over buildings that weather slowly on land that seems to last forever. The wind whips or the air hangs over fields
resting after harvest. The sun dries the autumn colors and the leaves drop to reveal the trees.
The snow falls, the ground rests and the light returns to the eastern sky.
-John Dean
1967 BFA, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa
1976 MAT, Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri
1967-2002 High School Art Teacher specializing in painting and drawing
2004- Present Juried Studio Artist in Residence
Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, Missouri
Selected Exhibitions:
2011 Ode, Curated Show, Art St. Louis
2010 The Artful Palette, Juried Show, Foundry Art Centre
2009 Gallery Artist, Art Trends Gallery, Chesterfield, MO
2008 Painting, Juried Show, Foundry Art Centre
2008 Gallery Artist, Argonne Gallery, Kirkwood, MO
2008 Off Site Invitational, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2007 All Media Landscapes, Juried Show, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO
2006 Missouri 50, Juried Show, Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, MO
2006 Painting, Juried Show, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO
2005 Landscapes, Juried Show, Foundry Art Centre
2005 Off Site Invitational, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2004 Solo Show, American Visions Contemporary Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2002 All Over The Page, Invitational, Genesis House Gallery, St. Louis, MO
1990 Greater Midwestern International V, Juried Show, Central Missouri State
1989-'91 Gallery Artist, Sheila's Fine Arts, Kirkwood, MO
1988 Inside: Out, Juried Show, St. Louis Artists' Coalition
1987 Greater Midwestern International II, Juried Show, Central Missouri State
1985 Watercolor: Missouri, Juried Show, William Woods College
1983-'87 Missouri Art Educators' Exhibit, Juried Show, University of Missouri