Henry Dean is a multimedia artist with a diverse practice of creation. Drawing, journaling, and sketching are the foundations of his creative practice. From these, he makes installations, paintings, sculptures, mixed media works, photographs, and videos.
Dean's work reflects both his immersion and responses to nature and humanity. His upbringing in the Old and New Worlds has shaped an identity grounded in rootlessness. An expressed theme in many works is defining patterns and meanings in art and art-making — visual acts of remembering and thought-cycling. A foundation to practice is the state of mind of attentiveness (being present) within given contexts. Strategies for practice include responsive and action drawing, and the consideration of history, philosophy, geography, etc.
Henry Dean teaches and writes on topics covering drawing, the visual arts, and education. He graduated from St. Andrews University, Scotland in 1980 (MFA, Geography & Fine Arts, honors) and from SCAD in 2003 (MFA, Painting). Dean is a professor in the School of Foundation Studies at SCAD, where he has taught since 1999.