THE PAINT INSTALLATION PROJECT 2013: A Post Colonial DADA

“This investigation takes another turn by the use of the art gallery in the physical act of imprinting onto the walls through traditional forms of art making. In the act of painting the walls, art reconfigures meaning and transforms more than usual the politics of the white space. By placing the artwork on to the painted walls there is another performance of traditionalism of art making and presentation. The Paint Installation Project 2013 attempts a look at painting in the nuances of modernity, contemporary art politics and traditionalism. The Paint Installation Project is looking at the “Offness” and bringing it into position.”

“The Kings & Their Planes” 2012, 60"x 81" acrylic, spray paint, paper, glue.

Opening reception for  the Paint Installation Project 2013 by Dean Arlen will be held on  Thursday 17th January 2013, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. An artist talk to follow on Thursday 24th January 2013, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Exhibition continues until Thursday 7th February 2013. Medulla Art Gallery is located at 37 Fitt Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain. To RSVP call 740 7597 or email Martin at . Sign up to receive future emails from Medulla Art Gallery: http://eepurl.com/hk3XI

Artist Statement

The idea of exploring the living space has consumed me since returning from the Ontario College of Art and Design, which I attended on a Commonwealth Fellowship. There I pursued a multi-disciplinarian approach to sculpture, through installation art. This further developed my jewellery studies done at John D Technical Institute and my visual arts diploma completed at the University of the West Indies. On returning to Trinidad and Tobago, I embarked on using our living space for art and design, the most memorable being the UWI Sculptural Project/The One Day Symposium 2006-2010 the Sculptural Playground (In development). The projects that I engage in are extensions of my studio practice where my collages and assemblage paintings have allowed me to create an urban philosophical art and design language that has strengthen my resolve to reinterpret them into my very own urban and rural spaces. My recent exploration of the living space through the AlterEgo Project, which is the presentation of 15 original built pieces of furniture, which looks at the art of production and the alternative artist operation within community and state. The Paint Installation Projects exemplifies these concepts in serious free form.

- Dean Arlen 2012.

About Dean Arlen

A former pupil of Fatima College, Dean Arlen later attended Trinidad’s John Donaldson Technical Institute where he studied jewelry design, which he credits as introducing him to three dimensional design and sculpture. In 1996 he won the inter-American Bank’s 2D and 3D mural design competition. He subsequently attended the Ontario College of Art and Design, on a Commonwealth Fellowship and later completed a visual arts diploma at the University of the West Indies. He describes his projects as extensions of his studio practice, creating an urban philosophical art and design language. Among them are the UWI sculptural project and the AlterEgo Project.