Dean Mitchell Explained

Dean Mitchell
Birth Place:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education:Columbus College of Art & Design, Illustration, 1980[1]
Occupation:figurative artist

Dean Mitchell (born 1957) is an American figurative artist who works primarily in watercolor and oil paint. His subjects, derived largely from African American culture, have been cited for their emotional depth, avoidance of facile sentimentality, and accomplished sense of formal design.[2]

Mitchell was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957, and raised in Quincy, Florida.[3] [4] [5] After graduating from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1980, Mitchell moved to Kansas City, Missouri and started working as an illustrator at Hallmark Cards. He remained at Hallmark for the next three years and began entering national and international art competitions. When Hallmark terminated his employment in 1983, he decided to pursue painting as a full-time career.[6]

Mitchell's artwork has been the subject of numerous articles, and is represented in museum and corporate collections, including the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Saint Louis Art Museum.[7] His life is the subject of an illustrated book for children, Against All Odds: Artist Dean Mitchell's Story.

Mitchell has also illustrated US postage stamps, such as the 1995 Louis Armstrong stamp in the Jazz Musician series.[8] [9]

Exhibitions

YearExhibitVenueNotes
1990Reflections ‘90 Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, Kansas City, MO Juried exhibition. Allen’s oil painting “Big Wind” features a jazz bassist. Other artists included Richard McGill, Dean Mitchell, and Joseph L. Smith.[10]
1996A Dean Mitchell AnthologyMarianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, KSSolo exhibition featuring architectural watercolors, oil paintings, and portraits.[11] [12] [13]
1999The Kansas City Six: A ReunionBruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, Kansas City, MO Exhibit featured art by Leroy Allen, Thomas Blackshear II, Henry Dixon, Jonathan Knight, Dean Mitchell, Ezra Tucker.[14]
2002Black RomanticStudio Museum in Harlem, New York City, NYArtists included Dean Mitchell, Troy L. Johnson, Kadir Nelson and Kehinde Wiley.[15] [16]
2004Works by Dean Mitchell: Coming HomeGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition.[17] [18]
2004Art: My Window to the WorldAmerican Jazz Museum, Kansas City, MOSolo exhibition featuring 100 oil paintings, drawings, watercolors, and etchings.[19] [20]
2005Second LightCarter Art Center Gallery, Penn Valley Community College, Kansas City, MO Fourteen artists exhibited including Dean Mitchell, Leroy Allen, George Mayfield, and Bonnye Brown.[21]
2005Backbone: Dean Mitchell's Images of African-American MenMississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MSSolo exhibition featuring 45 portraits of African-American men.[22] [23]
2008Dean Mitchell's New OrleansGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition featuring 42 watercolors, acrylic, and oil paintings inspired by New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina.[24] [25]
2008Everything's a Portrait: The Watercolors of Dean MitchellCornell Museum of Art, Delray, FLSolo exhibition featuring watercolors, as well as etchings, drawings, acrylic and oil paintings.[26] [27]
2010Dean Mitchell: Visions with Heart and SoulLeepa Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpon Springs, FLRetrospective exhibition featuring drawings, watercolors, acrylic, and oil paintings.[28] [29]
2010Dean Mitchell: Space, People and PlacesCanton Museum of Art, Canton, OHSolo exhibition featuring 40 recent watercolors.[30] [31]
2011Dean Mitchell: Rich in SpiritGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition.[32]
2015Dean Mitchell: A Place, A Mental SpaceMarianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, KSSolo exhibition of watercolor and oil paintings of scenes from the Pima-Maricopa Reservation (Phoenix, AZ) and the artist's hometown (Quincy, FL).[33] [34]
2016Dean Mitchell's American West: Poverty and the Human SpiritGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition exploring poverty and the decay of the built environment inspired by visits to the Pima-Maricopa Reservation in Phoenix, AZ.[35]
2020Looking at America and Painting How I Want, What I Want and How I See ItAlbany Museum of Art, Albany, GASolo exhibition featuring watercolor and acrylic paintings.[36] [37]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CCAD Alumni Awards . CCAD . 17 November 2018 . en.
  2. http://www.tampabay.com/features/visualarts/dean-mitchells-soul-satisfying-art-exhibit-now-at-leepa-rattner-museum-of/1082210 Dean Mitchell's soul-satisfying art exhibit now at Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
  3. Web site: Biography, Florida Blackloquence of his concentration and touch. . 2010-07-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170622125644/http://www.floridablackhistory.com/rotunda.cfm . 2017-06-22 . dead .
  4. Kimmelman, Michael. A Black World Of Ins and Outs. New York Times, April 26, 2002. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  5. For cultural critic Reginald Gant, Mitchell’s art "comes right out of the African-American experience. It’s the result of an aural construct—‘call and response’—that evolved during slavery (one group of slaves would sing out, and another group would respond). Imperative in these exchanges were issues of faith, trust, and perseverance."
  6. News: Janicke. Tim. Off the Easel of Success. March 3, 2002. Kansas City Star Magazine.
  7. http://theautry.org/masters/2008/artist_page.php?queue=43 Biography
  8. Web site: Jazz Musicians: Louis Armstrong . https://web.archive.org/web/20031216013328/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/artofthestamp/SubPage%20table%20images/artwork/arts/Louis%20Armstrong/louisarmstrong.htm . dead . December 16, 2003 . postalmuseum.si.edu . 26 December 2018 .
  9. Web site: African American Stamp Artists . ESPER (African American Stamp Society) . 26 December 2018 . en.
  10. News: Reflections '90 . Kansas City Star . 9 September 1990 . 150.
  11. Web site: Exhibition Archive: 1996-1998 Past Exhibitions Exhibitions Explore Beach Museum of Art Kansas State University. beach.k-state.edu. 2020-02-22.
  12. Book: Kansas State collegian. 1997. Student Publications, Inc. (1946-1955). Prior to 1946, Kansas State University.. Kansas State University Libraries.
  13. Web site: A Dean Mitchell Anthology Exhibition. ArtFacts. ArtFacts. en. 2020-02-22.
  14. News: Openings . Kansas City Star . 12 February 1999 . I5.
  15. News: Kimmelman . Michael . ART REVIEW; A Black World Of Ins and Outs . 27 December 2018 . The New York Times . 26 April 2002.
  16. Book: Black romantic: the figurative impulse in contemporary African-American art. . 2002 . Studio Museum in Harlem . 9780942949230 . 50256393 . 27 December 2018 . en.
  17. Web site: Past Exhibitions. gadsdenarts.org. 2020-02-22. 2020-05-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20200512033054/https://gadsdenarts.org/exhibitions/Past. dead.
  18. Web site: Accolades Dean Mitchell Studio. deanmitchellstudio.com. 20 February 2018 . 2020-02-22.
  19. News: Thorson. Alice. Mitchell's 'Window' offers singular view of black culture. December 12, 2004. Kansas City Star.
  20. Web site: Mitchell, Dean Lamont. https://web.archive.org/web/20181227230538/http://216.197.120.164/artistbibliog.cfm?id=1169. dead. December 27, 2018. 216.197.120.164. 2020-02-22.
  21. News: Cardarella . Toni . Gallery's show spotlights African-American artists . Kansas City Star . 1 June 2005 . 3.
  22. Web site: Portrait Of A Black Man. Collier. Natalie A.. www.jacksonfreepress.com. en. 2020-02-22.
  23. Web site: Backbone - Dean Mitchell's Images of African American Men Exhibition. ArtFacts. ArtFacts. en. 2020-02-22.
  24. Web site: Gadsden County times. ufdc.ufl.edu. en. 2020-02-22.
  25. Web site: Gadsden County times. ufdc.ufl.edu. en. 2020-02-22.
  26. Web site: Everything's a Portrait: Watercolors of Dean Mitchell. Summers. Marya. 2008-05-29. New Times Broward-Palm Beach. 2020-02-22.
  27. Book: Palm Beach Life. December 2007. Palm Beach Newspapers. en.
  28. Book: Inc, Tampa Bay Publications. Tampa Bay Magazine. March–April 2010. Tampa Bay Publications, Inc.. en.
  29. Web site: Dean Mitchell: Visions with Heart and Soul Exhibition. ArtFacts. ArtFacts. en. 2020-02-22.
  30. Web site: Dean Mitchell: Space, People & Places Canton Museum of Art. https://web.archive.org/web/20200222192823/http://stage3.famcominc.com/Canton/content/dean-mitchell-space-people-places. dead. February 22, 2020. stage3.famcominc.com. 2020-02-22.
  31. Web site: Dean Mitchell: Space, People & Places Exhibition. ArtFacts. ArtFacts. en. 2020-02-22.
  32. Web site: Dean Mitchell: New Orleans & African American Art. Gangelhoff. Bonnie. 2011-03-16. Southwest Art Magazine. en-US. 2020-02-22.
  33. Web site: Dean Mitchell: A Place, A Mental Space Exhibitions Explore Beach Museum of Art Kansas State University. beach.k-state.edu. 2020-02-22.
  34. Web site: Dean Mitchell: A Place, A Mental Space Exhibition. ArtFacts. ArtFacts. en. 2020-02-22.
  35. News: Dean Mitchell's American West opens Jan. 15 at the Gadsden Arts Center. January 6, 2016. The Calhoun-Liberty Journal. February 22, 2020.
  36. Web site: Dean Mitchell. Albany Museum of Art. en. 2020-02-22. 2020-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20200222200442/http://www.albanymuseum.com/dean-mitchell.html. dead.
  37. February 2020. Looking at America. Western Art Collector. 150. 30.