Dorian Dean

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Hope is the thing with feathers.

Emily Dickinson

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Keep things together through signs in regular places. During quarantine I made outdoor signs I called: Clock-Chime-Kites. Made of tarp and fabric. Easily swung over a shoulder and positioned in “regular” places that I think of as defined by being seen along a walk to the grocery store or just a walk. 

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For what feels like the first time, in a long time I am facing the photograph. Answering to its presence and questioning its ubiquity in my life and the world. 

Above you’ll find a stencil and polaroid of my kitchen table and below that a window and shutter set I saw on a bike ride.

The photograph as archive- 

 Today I found my Tumblr page after not using it for over six years. I forgot all about it and revisited the archive. It felt like finding a treasure and some version of my former self.

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Painting in progress July 28, 2014 Dorian Dean

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Painting from a previous time revisited- circa summer 2008, Dorian Dean

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Noa Noa variation. July 25, 2014 Dorian Dean

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Found wood and painting study July 17, 2014 Dorian Dean

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Crayon, gesso and found rock 7/13/14 Dorian Dean

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Forgotten Statue 7/8/14 in the studio Dorian Dean

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Drift wood with water color, 7/8/14 studio Dorian Dean 12 x13

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Take a virtual tour through this unusual gallery space to see Souvenir, new works on paper by Dorian Dean, wooden frames by Matt Evans. It may look like an installation or perhaps a clever way to imagine the art in the comfort of your own home, but really Circle of Hope uses the space(s) for meetings and events during the week as well as a gallery. As you take the tour you can see its made up of two rooms. The larger works (all of the custom framed pieces by Matt) minus Perennial were deemed "to heavy to hang." The solution with less then 24 hours to solve was to prop them on chairs and tables to help them engage in conversation in time for their 6:00pm First Friday debut on June 6th. Sometimes you have to let go of your ideals and work with what you have. Especially with a last minute opportunity like this one. A difficult but important lesson.

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I wanted to post images of the framed work so that you could have a sense of what the work looks like in the beautiful frames Matt custom made for: The Awakening, Perennial, Architecture of time, Untitled and 360° with reclaim lumber. The others I framed myself with lengths from the art supply store along with old frames from my studio mate Jon. Please look at previous posts to view better quality images of the work on its own- the reflections on the glass are difficult to control and distort the image. Thank you Philadelphia Woodcraft Company for generously supplying the wood. And thank you to Matt for spending countless hours in problem solving and creating these incredible frames. I've always known presentation is extremely important when showing work but Matt's custom frames showed me how the entire experience of the work can be taken to the next level.  The frames feel like a true collaboration between the art work and the frame in how they relate through color and surface. After creating the frames Matt treated them with danish oil and a homemade stain he created using vinegar and a few other natural ingredients.

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"Untitled" the first image on this post is the eleventh completing piece to the Souvenir show. The other ten are in the previous post. The rest of the work shown here are new works on paper that didn't make it into the show. They were all made at various times during 2014.

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These are all the pieces in the Souvenir show except for "Untitled"--see it in the next post. Eleven pieces total in the show. With this blog I can only post ten images at a time so bear with me. There are some intentional repeats of the work as I show them in the context of the Gallery space and what they look like framed.