Dean Kessmann

July 2009

Dean Kessmann drove in from Washington D.C. before the July 4th holiday and has been working steadily ever since, with no time off for fireworks. Since his arrival, he has completed a full set of final prints for his series A Year at a Glance, work that examines the intersection of art and commerce within the rectangular format of art publications. Kessmann’s amalgamated collages collect a year’s worth of front and back covers from such magazines as Art in America and ARTnews. These complex montages offer an illusion of transparency to the marketing strategies utilized by these powerful publications as they appeal to the art-oriented consumer culture. Also during his time in Syracuse, Kessmann plans to begin work on other series that further explore the physicality of paper-based art. For his next project, Kessmann has scanned 365 pieces of blank paper and then digitally manipulated the scans to highlight the texture of the paper’s pulp. The subtle patterns that emerge from this working method underscore the minute decisions that inform and influence the creative process.

Dean Kessmann teaches photography at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His work has been exhibited at a wide variety of venues, from appearances at Aqua Art Miami and PULSE New York to several shows at Conner Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C.

www.deankessmann.com