Mark Dean:
Pioneer Art Dealer
On 9/11, Mark Dean hopped in a rogue taxi headed uptown, the only car on a deserted Seventh Avenue. Soon after the life altering day, he went back to night school in Arts Administration, and left his senior corporate marketing position.
His inaugural exhibition in 2006, at the New York sculpture/object/functional art show SOFA, drew the attention of 57th Street Manhattan dealer Garth Clark Gallery. Clark offered his Long Island City project space gallery for Dean to create private exhibitions - a gesture Clark had never made in the 30-year history of his gallery.
Ultimately the building that housed Clark's project space was sold and Dean went public with his own gallery right across 21st Street in September 2007, six years to the month after his cathartic cab ride.
Today, Dean is a dealer of emerging artists (in the $3,000 to $50,000 price range). Dean selects artists that harness classical training to conceptual content. Committed to furthering the development of art that has the power to effect social change, Dean creates a bridge between artists, curators, collectors and institutions, but he also channels those relationships into reaching out to the community, planting the seeds of future artists and collectors.
Home:
New York City
Hobbies & Interests:
Collecting George Ohr ceramics, wood-firing ceramics, family, driving and preparing innovative dinners.
www.deanproject.com
Work of artist Tim Berg
Work of artist Sandra Bermudez
