Aria Dean facts for kids
Aria Dean (born in 1993) is an American artist, writer, and curator. A curator is someone who helps organize art shows and exhibitions. Until 2021, Aria Dean worked as a curator and editor for Rhizome. This is an organization that supports digital art.
Her writings have been published in many art magazines. These include Artforum, e-flux, and Art in America. Dean's art has been shown all over the world. She has had exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, and London. She also helps run an art space called As It Stands LA. Aria Dean lives and works in both New York City and Los Angeles. Her art is represented by the Greene Naftali gallery.
Early Life and School
Aria Dean was born in 1993. She went to Oberlin College and graduated in 2015.
Her Work as an Artist
After college, Aria Dean worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. She was their social media coordinator.
In 2016, she became an assistant curator at Rhizome. She focused on "net art" and digital culture. Net art is art made using the internet or computers. Dean helped Rhizome save and show net art from the 1980s until today. This project was called Net Art Anthology. She also helped organize events and publish articles online. In 2021, Dean left Rhizome to focus on her own art.
Her first solo art show was called Baby Is A Cool Machine. It opened in 2017. The show explored what it means to be Black in the United States. Critics praised her work. In 2018, Cultured Magazine named her one of 30 top artists under 35.
In late 2017, Dean curated an online exhibition for Rhizome. It was part of the Net Art Anthology project. The show was called New Black Portraitures. It featured artists who explored how Black people show themselves online. It looked at how they use visibility and self-representation.
In early 2018, Dean wrote and directed a play. It was for the Swiss Institute in New York.
Her second solo exhibition was lonesome crowded west. This show featured sculptures and installations. It explored personal experiences and how the media sees things. Dean used clay from Mississippi in some of her sculptures. This showed her connection to that place. Other artworks explored the feeling of loneliness. This was especially true for Black people in Western countries.
Dean explained that the show's title came from a band's album. She felt the phrase "The Lonesome Crowded West" described her own situation. It connected her to the art objects she created.
Art Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
- Wolves, Progetto, Lecce, IT, 2023
- Show Your Work Little Temple, Greene Naftali, New York, NY, 2021
- Aria Dean: Suite!, REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA, 2021
- Aria Dean, Albright–Knox Art Gallery, Gallery for New Media, Buffalo, NY, 2018
- lonesome crowded west, Château Shatto, Los Angeles, 2018
- Gut Pinch, The Sunroom, Richmond, VA 2018
- Baby is a Cool Machine, American Medium, New York, NY 2017
Selected Two-Person Exhibitions
- White Ppl Think I'm Radical, Arcadia Missa, London, U.K., 2017
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2022 Whitney Biennial - "Quiet as It's Kept" curated by Adrienne Edwards and David Breslin
- Made in L.A. 2020: a version, organized by Myriam Ben Salah and Lauren Mackler, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA 2021
- Greene Naftali, New York, NY, 2020
- The Pain of Others, curated by Myriam Ben Salah, Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2018
- Condo New York: Château Shatto, Los Angeles, presents: Jean Baudrillard, Body by Body, Aria Dean, Jacqueline de Jong, Foxy Productions, New York, NY 2017
- At this stage, Château Shatto, Los Angeles, CA 2017
Selected Lectures and Presentations
- "Notes on BlacceleraLon," Reed College, September 1, 2017
- "Blackness Against the Digital," University of the Arts, Helsinki, April 2017
- "Busta Rhymes at the End of the World," Machine Project, LA, February 24, 2017
- "Our Bodies, Online" panel at the New School, February 7, 2017
- "Blackness in CirculaLon," panel at Open Score, New Museum, 2016
- "Due West," Arcadia Missa/Dominica Reading at LACA, Los Angeles 2016
