In her artistic work, Danielle Dean grapples with the construction of ethnic, social, and gender-specific roles by examining the narratives she finds in political speeches and news items for example, as well as in advertising and popular culture. The artist focuses in particular on the power structures underlying these narratives, which lead to the manipulation of thoughts, feelings, and social relationships.
The artist subverts the visual language of advertising and marketing and transfers it to an artistic space where the line between fact and fiction is blurred. The starting point for her video installations, collages, and drawings are certain objects, events, and locations which Danielle Dean uses to demonstrate that certain forms of invasion, violence, and surveillance operate across geographical and temporal boundaries.
With Trigger Torque, Danielle Dean (born 1982 in Huntsville, Alabama, USA) presents her first exhibition in Germany at the Ludwig Forum for International Art.
The British-American artist received her BA from Central Saint Martins in London (2006) and MFA from California Institute of the Arts (2012) in Valencia. She has been a fellow of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program in New York and a resident at Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and Rijksakademie van Beeldene Kunsten in Amsterdam. She has held solo exhibitions at The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (2018), 47 Canal, New York (2018), Commonwealth & Council, Los Angeles (2017) and Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2016). Works by the artist can be found in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Danielle Dean lives and works in San Diego, California.
Curated by Holger Otten
Curatorial assistance: Dominik Bönisch
Exhibition view: Danielle Dean, True Red Ruin (Elmina Castle), 2017, 2-channel video installation, standees. Courtesy Commonwealth & Council, Los Angeles
Exhibition view: Danielle Dean, Bazar, 2018, 4-channel video installation, standees. Courtesy the artist
Exhibition view: Danielle Dean, Swollen Asset, 2019, inflatable, airbrush. Courtesy the artist
Exhibition view: Danielle Dean, Long Low Line, 2019, HD video animation. Courtesy the artist
