Dean Gustafson
Artist info: exhibits, bio, statement and links...
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Exhibitions SF Video Links Links
BIO/STATEMENT:
My work stems from the imagination and from life. It's about exploring new and old imagery, enriching myself in the love of the time-honored tradition of oil painting, and ink & pencil drawing. Sometimes going for illustrative visions, to exploring texture and abstraction. Influenced by artists who many are among a great community of friends , and the wealth of art collections of Minneapolis and San Francisco that I've grown up with, to the the vast history of art during several lengthy stays in Europe. I permanently moved from Minneapolis to the Bay Area in the mid ‘80s, receiving my BFA in Painting & Drawing from the Academy of Art College in 1990. I’ve continued to draw, paint and exhibit, with a lot of love and enthusiasm for the process and outcome. Until 2019, when my ALS diagnosis led to a disability that now prevents me from physically handling art supplies, so now I write about it.
Combining the skills and crafts necessary to be a proficient painter, with the search for the muse of original impressions, I've managed to be hot on the trail of some curious mysteries that are, to a good extent, realized on canvas. It's an ongoing evolutionary process, prevalent with each individual painting to every series of thematic works.
GENERAL INFO ON THE ARTWORK:
The majority of my oil paintings are on “gallery wrapped” canvas, stretched over sturdy, handmade wood stretcher frames, with a few exceptions of masonite panel. All ready to hang using professional grade picture hanging wire.
The drawings are steadily being framed and doled out around the country, and I have thousands.ABOUT THIS WEBSITE
I'm not much of an updated techie, so my DIY html is quite primitive. Stuck somewhere around 1999-2001. You also may have noticed that some of the images are not as high res, with my copyright plastered over its face. Some of those are the old jpegs for the old version of the website from 1999, that I currently don't have the high res versions within reach.
some fun San Francisco history I was involved with [Video Links]
Exhibitions
July 2016, Ale Industries, 3096 E. 10th St. Oakland. “Practice” Figure painting group show.
Burning Man hq office, SOMAR, San Francisco. Permanent display.
May 2016 Ale Industries, 3096 E. 10th St. Oakland. Five artist group show.
Jan. 2016 Group Figure Drawing Show. 20th Anniversary of Sebastian Hydes Figure Drawing Group! Ale Industries, 3096 E. 10th St. Oakland.
Look Studios West, Alameda, CA. Solo show. November 2015.
Expressions Gallery, Berkeley, CA. Group show. November, 2013.
“This Land Is Your Land” Expressions Gallery, Berkeley, CA. Group show. March 10th –June 1, 2012.
“Art and Labor” Expressions Gallery, Berkeley, CA. Group show. June 5th –August 6, 2011.
Creative Growth Art Center Benefit 2513 Blanding Ave, Alameda, CA. Dec. 2010
“St Valentines Day Sweetie Pie and Art Fest” 4928 Telegraph, Oakland. Feb. 2010.
The Blue Front Cafe, Haight Street @ Masonic, San Francisco. Solo show. September 16 – November 10th, 2009.
“Simply Divine” Expressions Gallery, Berkeley, CA. Group show. Dec. 13, 2008 – Feb. 6, 2009.
“Nocturnal Visions” ArtworkSF Gallery, 49 Geary St. San Francisco. Group show, September 4 – September 30, 2007.
“Animal Magnetism” The Monadnock Building, 685 Market St. 3rd floor. San Francisco. Group show, March 28 – June 27, 2007.
“Relic” ArtworkSF Gallery, 49 Geary St. San Francisco. Group show, October 31 – November 27, 2006.
“Bay Area Natural” Polarity Post Production, 69 Green St. San Francisco. Group show, July 15 – October 14, 2006.
“Other Worlds, Other Realms” Mezzanine Gallery at Hotel Triton, 342 Grant Ave. San Francisco, CA. Group show. June, 2006.
“Empirical Nostalgia” 23 years worth of my daily drawings in the squares of wall calendars. Group show. Million Fishes Art Gallery, 2501 Bryant St. San Francisco. April, 2006
“Sound It Out” Mezzanine Gallery at Hotel Triton, 342 Grant Ave. San Francisco, CA. Group show, February 23 – April 11, 2006.
Crepes on Cole 100 Carl St. (corner of Cole @ Carl) San Francisco, CA. Solo show, February 7 – March 28, 2006
“Great Escapes” Redwood Massage and Sauna, 797 Arguello St. Redwood City, CA. Group show, January 25 – April 25, 2006
Cafe Venue, 721 Market Street. San Francisco, CA. Solo show, November 16, 2005 – January 16, 2006
“Objection Overruled” Polarity Post Production, 69 Green St. San Francisco. Group show, October 15, 2005 – January 14, 2006
3rd Annual Cafe Show. Somarts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street. San Francisco, CA. Group show, August 11 – 25, 2005
Marin Open Studios San Anselmo, CA. May 2005
Marchant Chapman offices San Anselmo, CA. solo show, July 2004
Red Devil Lounge Polk & Clay streets, San Francisco. group show. February 2003
Walter Adams Gallery 355 Presidio Avenue (@ Sacramento Street) San Francisco. solo exhibition. November 2002
Caffe Proust , San Francisco. @ Baker & McAlister Sts. 1999-2002
Midnight Design Offices. Moraga, CA. 1996 – 2002
Civic Arts Commission Gallery , San Francisco. “The Art of Burning Man” Group show, July 1998
The Bug Girl Show, San Francisco TV show exhibition with interview, 1997
Anon Salon, San Francisco. Group show, September 1996
Center for the Visual Arts, Oakland CA. Group show, March 1995
Somar Gallery, San Francisco. “Primal Edge” group show, July 1994
Railway Spine Gallery, San Francisco. Group show, March 1994
Riverrun Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA. Group show, August 1993
Architects and Heroes, San Francisco. Solo show. April – June 1993
Bayfront Gallery, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. ‘43 painting solo show retrospective’ July 1992
Anon Salon, San Francisco. Group show, May 1992
Academy of Art College, San Francisco. Group show, September 1990
A Gallery, San Francisco. Group show, August – September 1990
Showplace Design Center, San Francisco. Group show, July 1990
South of Market Cultural Center, San Francisco. Group shows throughout 1988 – 1989
“The Degenerate Art Show” Group show in a South of Market parking lot in San Francisco, September 1988
Object A Gallery, Minneapolis, MN. Group show, October 1986 Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN. Solo show, May – June 1986
Fine Arts Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Group show, April 1986
EDUCATIONThe Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA, BFA. Merit finalist for two years, graduated ‘with distinction’ December 1990.
City College, San Francisco, CA. 1991 and 2009. Certificate in design.
California Academy of Sciences , San Francisco, CA. 2009. Aquarium courses .
Randall Museum, San Francisco, CA. John Dobson telescope building, and Cosmology 2004.
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN. 1982-1984.SITE SPECIFIC
Burning Man. Black Rock Desert, NV. 1991 – 95 Oversized sundials for Burning Man. Desert Siteworks Black Rock Desert, NV. 1993. another huge sundial. (does anyone have good pics of these?)TRAVEL STUDY
Europe, summers of 1985-86, autumn 1994, summer 2000, September '05.
Studied and sketched from the scenes & museums of Europe and Scandinavian archeology.BORN
September 6th, 1963 at 3:34 AM in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Links
LINKS to favorite sites....