Dean Trisko
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BIO
Dean Trisko is a visual artist living and working in Northeast Minneapolis. He began making art as a student in high school and never stopped. His passion for art was ignited as a teen at the Grand Marais Art Colony on the North Shore of Lake Superior. He went on to complete a BA in Fine Arts and Art Education as well as an MFA in Fine Arts. Along with maintaining a studio and creating artwork, Dean also taught art at Minneapolis College for 22 years.
Painting, drawing, and printmaking are his primary media. His artworks are often an abstract response to landscape and nature, encompassing a broad range of scale from small intricately crafted prints to large rhythmic paintings. His use of light, space, and the subtle interplay of color uniquely define his work.
Dean has won awards in juried art competitions and has shown works nationally and internationally. His artwork is in private and corporate collections. Dean helped form and has participated in every Art-a-Whirl event. He was on the founding board of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) and continues to work with local arts groups and initiatives.
Artist Statement
I make abstract art—drawings, paintings and handmade prints. Landscape and the local environment are subjects that initiate my desire to make art. My process is similar to the classic steps of abstraction: observing visual subjects, then reducing, exaggerating and editing until most hints of representation are gone. The process allows me to pursue engaging visual experiences and aesthetic beauty. I want to make art that celebrates formal qualities: visual relationships, balance and harmony. Abstraction is not my objective, but rather a method that expands possibilities. The process allows me to look beyond structures that guide the natural world. Abstraction facilitates my joy in visual experience and experimentation. Abstraction encourages me to seek out and define an aesthetic. It has become a visual language for me. Recently I have used memories of places I have studied as well as previous works as the foundation of my abstractions. I don’t expect the viewer to recognize the locations or even the subject of abstract work. I work to create art that engages my attention and contemplation. It is my hope that viewers will find their own dialogue with these works.
Little About Dean
What inspires your work?
The visually meditative experiences I find in nature and the landscape are an endless inspiration for my artistic engagement.
What is something unexpected about you that often surprises people?
Though abstract art is my primary focus, many people are surprised to find that I continue to make realist observational studies.
What do you consider your most significant achievement as an artist?
Having a viewer develop meaningful engagement and a continuing relationship with a particular artwork of mine is an honor. It shows a trust and willingness on the viewers part. It is an achievement that thills me every time it is acknowledged, and never is taken for granted.
How has your work evolved over time?
The road toward abstraction is an every changing and evolving path. The very nature of an abstract process prompts me to seek out personal growth.
Is there a particular medium or subject you're drawn to, and why?
Taking time to observe what is around me, really looking at visual qualities will lead me to want to respond as an artist. That I will find joy in the materials and the making process is a given. It is that initial process of reflection that lights the way.
What's the most challenging part of being an artist?
Staying up on the public/business aspect of being an artist is an ongoing effort.
Do you have a favorite piece you've created? Why does it stand out?
The artwork that holds my hopes and dreams is the one I am currently working on. My favorite artwork is the next one!
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I am Minnesota born and raised. Most of my education has been in Minnesota and it is where I taught art for over 25 years.
Who are your artistic influences or mentors?
All of my teacher are deserving of praise for the patience and guidance they provided in my development. One in particular inspirational figure was local artist Birney Quick.
Seeing him paint and speak about art in my teens made an indelible impression on a young person with little exposure to art or artists.
What advice would you give to emerging artists?
Learn to make creative activity/thinking integral in your life. The rest is specific details that make each persons’ journey unique. There is no singular way, each have their own path to follow.
