Jan Dickey
Jan Dickey builds up layers of paint, tempera, and other materials to create a metaphorical living organism that is his mixed media painting – the painting is a metaphor for many things, including the nation state, or the individual, each with boundaries that are abstract or political and imbued with signs and ideology.
Artist Statement
Jan Dickey sees paint as a living substance, likening its elements to organisms within a complex ecosystem. By working with earth-based binders like milk paint, egg tempera, walnut oil, rabbit skin glue and casein, the artist allows organic and complex systems of relationships to form within his works. The texturally intricate surfaces born out of Dickey’s intuitive actions while painting are meant to remain open to gradual change, even after they leave the artist’s studio.
Currently, the five-pointed star is the primary subject of the artist’s work. Used in repetition, and appearing in different sizes and shifting angles, the star is used as a bounded geometric form, one that both contains and excludes compositional space. Mirroring the world around us, the artist’s use of the five-pointed star imposes boundaries to make sense of the painting, just as the boundaries we create around ourselves and around others are what allow us to coherently understand ourselves and our world. As in life, however, the boundaries within the artist’s work can be evanescent, potentially breaking open into boundlessness and inseparability.
Jan graduated with a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Delaware in Newark, DE in 2009. He later graduated with an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Hawai’i at Mãnoa in Honolulu, HI in 2017, where he was the recipient of a number of awards including the Graduate Achievement Scholarship, the Geraldine P. Clark Memorial Fellowship and the John Heide Fellowship. He has been selected for numerous artist residencies, most recently at ARTnSHELTER in Tokyo, Japan in 2019, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Art Center in Nebraska City, NE in 2018, and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT in 2017. In 2023, Dickey will be an Artist Resident at The Sam and Adele Golden FoundationSM for the Arts, Inc..
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Education
BFA Studio Art, University of Delaware, 2009
Drawing and Painting, Academy of Classical Design, 2013
MFA Studio Art, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, 2017
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Passing "rough, D. D. D. D., Chinatown, NYC, NY
2019 Yoyogi Party Space: Jan Dickey, Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan (Curator: Takato Nagata)
2019 together through time, ARTnSHELTER Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2018 states, ARS Gallery, Honolulu, HI
2017 cover the earth, "e Art Gallery of University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2016 Pieces of Napoleon Blownapart, Commons Gallery at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa,
Honolulu, HI
2014 Watching the Planet, Unitarian Universality Church of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
2013 Chromogenetic Divinity: "e Planetary Gospel Songs, Louise Jones Brown Gallery at
Duke University, Durham, NC
Two Person Exhibitions
2023 Neverending, Muracekai, Tokyo, Japan (with Himeka Murai)
2017 Painter Friends, "e Outpost Gallery, Honolulu, HI (with Tom Walker)
2014 Earth: over and out, SunTrust Gallery, Durham, NC (with sair goetz)
Group Exhibitions
2023 Mapping, 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (juried by Maddy Rosenberg, artist and curator)
2023 Illusion and Materiality, Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ
2023 Miniature Reunion (In Process), Gallery Films, Tokyo Japan ("ree person exhibition and
live collaboration with Himeka Murai and Miina Yamaguchi)
2022 Betwixt and Between, Project Gallery V, online (Curated by Cary Hulbert and Trinity
Lester)
2022 Liminal Showcase 2, Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ
2022 Finding a Memory, Piano Cra$ Gallery, Boston, MA (Curated by Erika B Hess, host of the I
Like Your Work podcast)
2022 Art Club Members Art Show, Satellite Art Club, Brooklyn, NY (Curated by Art Club
Brooklyn)
2022 Relief, Studio 9D, New York, NY (Independent Curator: Joi Desirée Berry)
2022 Flat Rate Contemporary 12, Flat Rate Contemporary, online
2021 Interdependency: Meeting the Universe Halfway, Special Exhibition for Chengdu Biennale
at Chengdu University Gallery, Chengdu, China (Independent curators: Shulang Zou & He
Xi)
2021 NORMAL, Art in Odd Places 2021 (AiOP), 14th Street, New York, NY (Curated by Furusho
von Puttkammer, Executive Director of Art in Odd Places)
2021 "is is Not My Tree, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, NY (Curator: Nina Mdvani, Arts Writer
and Independent Curator)
2020 WEATHERED, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (Juried by Manifest)
2019 REGENERATE!, Donkey Mill Art Center, Holualoa, HI (Curators: Minny Lee, Artist + "ad
Higa, Artist)
2019 MidSummer Art Celebration 2019, Wailoa Center, Hilo, HI (Juror: Emily Catey Weiss,
Director of Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park)
2019 Kaka’ako Nei, Aupuni Space, Honolulu, HI (Curator: Don Felix Cervantes, Director of
TRADES A.i.R & Aupuni Space, Honolulu, HI)
2019 All Staff Exhibition, Linekona Gallery at Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
2018 "e Shape of Change, Cade Art Gallery, Arnold, MD (Juror: Amy Raehse, Executive
Director and Curator, Goya Contemporary, Baltimore, MD)
2018 Hawaii Contemporary Art, East Hawaii Cultural Center/HMOCA, Hilo, HI (Juror: Henry
Bianchini, Artist, Keaau, HI)
2018 2018: All Staff Exhibition, Linekona Gallery at Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
2017 Drawings: A Group Show, ARS Gallery, Honolulu, HI (Curators: Lawrence Steward + John
Koga, Artists and Curators, Honolulu, HI)
2017 "e Year is Now, Barbara White Studios at Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT (Curator:
Boyang Hou, Co-Founder and Director, Fernwey Gallery, Chicago, IL)
2017 CONTACT 3017, Linekona Gallery at Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI (Curators:
Paradise Cove, Artist Collective, Honolulu, HI)
2017 2017: All Staff Exhibition, Linekona Gallery at Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
2016 In the Moment, Strive, Louisville, KY (Curation: Tony White, Audio-Visual Artist)
2016 Contact: Foreign and Familiar, Linekona Gallery at Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
(Curators: Herman Piʻikea Clark, Artist and Educator, New Zealand + Isabella Ellaheh
Hughes, Co-founder, Honolulu Biennial, Hawai’i)
2016 ARTa$erDARK: Kawaii Hawai’i, Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI (Curator: Michelle
Chen, CEO, MCM Produced)
2015 Mixed Media Miniature 18, Koa Gallery, Honolulu, HI (Curator: David Behlke, Assistant
Professor of Art, KCC; Director, Koa Gallery, Hawai’i)
2015 Prototype, Mezzanine Gallery at Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI (Curator:
Kamran Samimi, Artist, Hawai’i)
2015 Exquisite Corpse, Holt Gallery at Honolulu MUseum of Art, Honolulu, HI (Curator:
Katharine Love, Curator of Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art)
2015 Into View, Gallery, ‘Iolani at Windward Community College, Kaneohe, HI (curators: Erika
Enomoto, Communications Manager, Artist Trust, Seattle, WA + Shulang Zou, NYC, NY)
2015 "e Fate of Eight, Cab Calloway School of the Arts Gallery, Wilmington, DE (Curator:
Richard Hanel, Art Teacher, Cab Calloway School of the Arts; Owner, You’ve Been Framed
2014 Art and Nature: Artwork inspired by the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants, Sarah P. Duke
Gardens at Duke University, Durham, NC (Juried by panel)
2013 Durham Community Show, Mercury Studios, Durham, NC (Juried by panel)
2013 Scapes, SunTrust Gallery, Durham, NC (Juror: Jennifer Dasal, Associate Curator of
Contemporary Art, North Carolina Museum of Art)
2013 Tiny: Attention Exploded, "e Carrack Modern Art, Durham, NC (Curator: Chris Vitiello,
Writer, Critic, Performer, and Independent Curator, Durham, NC)
2011 Transitions, SunTrust Gallery, Durham, NC (Juror: Pam Gutlon, Owner and Curator,
Outsider Art & Collectables, Durham, NC)
2011 Retrofuturology, "e Observatory, Brooklyn, NY (Presented by the Hollow Earth Society,
Brooklyn, NY)
2011 Community Show, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2011 Art Attack, Rabbit Hole Studio, Brooklyn, NY
Curatorial Projects
2020 Another Year in the Republic. Studio9D, New York, NY (featuring: Peter Williams, Gaye
Chan, Gerald Clarke, sair goetz, Ryan Bock, Boyang Hou, Juvana Soliven, Karen
Rosenkrantz, and Natalia Da Silva)
2020 Why Are You Painting?, Virtual exhibition for Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
(featuring: 21 artists from HI, CA, and NY; curated with Reem Bassous and Alina Kawai)
2017 Welcome to Free Speech, Curation, make-in, and free store with Juana Soliven as Hawai’i
J20+ at Ward Warehouses (retail space vacated for demolition), Honolulu, HI
2017 We’re all in this together, Charlie Brown, Street Performance with Hawai’i J20+ on Nuuanu
Ave, Honolulu, HI
2017 Are you going to let this Happen? / A Day of Resistance, Public Performance with GRRIC
Contemporary and Hawai’i J20+ at Mānoa Art Building and Campus Center, Honolulu, HI
2017 An A$er School Special, Curation with Terra Keck, Mezzanine Gallery at Honolulu
Museum of Art School, Honolulu, HI
2017 Readymade Place, Curation with Nisha Pinjani, Commons Gallery at University of Hawai’i
at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2016 Make America GRRIC Again, Curation with Kana Ogawa at GRRIC Contemporary at
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2016 Dana Jones: "ots, Curation and performance with Khari Safo, Terra Keck, and Nisha
Pinjani in GRRIC Contemporary at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2016 Consent, Curation with Terra Keck and Nisha Pinjani at GRRIC Contemporary at University
of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
Community Development
2021- !e Spectacle, A quarterly magazine featuring visual and literary artists ac the US & beyond,
2023 cultivating interdisciplinary collaboration, Features Editor
2021 NYC Crit Club, Administration and Social Media work
2021 Old Man Leader: Identity Filter, Art In Odd Places 2021: NORMAL, Union Square, NYC,
NY (Interactive art installation)
2020 Art World Escape: Virtual Studio Visit, Led a public virtual discussion with artists Gaye
Chan (Honolulu, HI) and Gerald Clarke (Cahuilla Reservation, CA)
2019 Korean Artists Association of Hawaii, 28th Korean Children’s Art Contest, Lead Juror,
Honolulu, HI
2018- Art World Escape: Earth Paint Workshops, Personal studio and Oahu
2019 trail system, Honolulu, HI
2018 TC Ching, Inspired in Hawaii contest, K - 12 poster design contest, Juror, Honolulu, HI
2018 Sweet Summer A$ernoon: Earth Paint Workshop, Nelson House, Nebraska City, NE
2017 Painters Club, Monthly community critique sessions, Founder and Organizer, Lana Lane
2019 Studios, Honolulu, HI
2017 "e Brainstorm Workshop, Collaboration between GRRIC Contemporary and MAP Office
(Multidisciplinary Artist Duo: Laurent Gutierrez Casablanca, Morocco + Valérie Portefaix,
Saint-Étienne, France)
2016- GRRIC Contemporary, Student run art gallery and performance space, Co-founder and
2017 Organizer, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2016- Hawai’i J20+, political activist organization + social practice
2017 art projects, Co-founder and Organizer, O’ahu, HI
Artist Residencies
2023 "Sam and Adele Golden FoundationSM for the Arts, Inc, New Berlin, NY
2019 ARTnSHELTER, Tokyo, Japan
2018 Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE
2017 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2013 Wildacres Residency Program, Little Switzerland, NC
2009 Safan Ranch, Fiddletown, CA
Awards and Honors
2018 Kimmel Harding Nelson Center Residency Award
2017 Artist’s Grant, Vermont Studio Center
2016 Graduate Achievement Scholarship, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
2016 Geraldine P. Clark Memorial Fellowship, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
2015 John Heide Fellowship, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
2014 - Graduate Assistantship, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
2016
2013 North Carolina Regional Artist Project Grant, Fayetteville, Cumberland County Arts
Council
2008 Undergraduate Research Grant, University of Delaware
Public Presentations
2020 Why Are You Painting? Curator’s Talk Story, virtual discussion with co-curators
2020 Reem Bassous and Alina Kawai, hosted by Marlene Siu, Exhibitions Manager at the
Honolulu Museum of Art School
2019 Together through time: gallery talk, ARTnSHELTER Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2018 Map Room: artist talk, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE
2018 states: artist talk, ARS Gallery, Honolulu, HI
2017 Jan Dickey: artist talk, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2017 cover the earth: artist talk, Art Gallery at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2016 Pieces of Napoleon Blownapart: artist talk, Commons Gallery at University of Hawai’i at
Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2016 Artistic Encounters with Plastiglomerate, Derelict Fishing Gear, and Other Pacific Plastic
Flotsam, Pecha Kucha Plastic Kucha with Jaimey Hamilton Faris, Spalding House,
Honolulu, HI
2008 Beyond Cézanne, Presentation on Paul Cézanne, Jackson Pollock, and Personal Work,
University of Delaware Undergraduate Research Program, Newark, DE
Press and Publications
2023 “Jan Dickey: Both sides now.” Two Coats of Paint, Heather Drayzen, May 3 2023, https://
twocoatsofpaint.com/2023/05/jan-dickey-both-sides-now.html
2023 “Review: Jan Dickey’s Simultaneous Burial and Excavation of the Law in Painting.” Emerging
Artist Collective, Chunbum Park, April 2023 (https://www.officespacegallery.com/post/
review-jan-dickey-s-simultaneous-burial-and-excavation-of-the-law-in-painting)
2023 “Interview by A.T. Gregor.” E66 Studios, Founder: Miguel Angel, March 2023 (Instagram:
@e66_studios)
2022 “‘Endless, neverending’.” Tokyo Art Beat, January 2013 https://www.tokyoartbeat.com/
events/-/Neverending/muracekai/2023-01-13
2022 “Farm and Bunker ("e D’Angelo/Zimmerman Letters).” Postdigital Science and Education,
DOI: 0.1007/s42438-022-00378-1. November, 22 2022. With Sang Pahk and Colleen
Rost-Banik (equal co-authors)
2022 “Fall 2022 Catalog.” I Like Your Work, Erika B Hess, Fall 2022
2022 “Interview: Jan Dickey.” Emerging Artist Collective, Chunbum Park, May 23
(www.emergingartistscollective.com/post/interview-jan-dickey)
2021 "Dr. D'Angelo's hidden chord (three utopias?)." Policy Futures in Education, DOI:
10.1177/14782103211025432. With Sang Pahk and Colleen Rost-Banik (equal co-authors)
2021 “International Painting Annual 9.” Manifest Press, 2021
2020 “Why Are You Painting?” Catalog published by Ki Smith Gallery, New York, NY
2017 “Young Guns: Brushes Loaded.” Noe Tanigawa, Hawai’i Public Radio (HPR), October, 20
2017
2017 “"e Manifesto 3/7/17 feat. Jaimey Hamilton Faris and Jan Dickey.” Dj "ee Curator, KTUH,
March, 7 2017
2016 “Matt Gilbertson with Jan Dickey.” Matt Gilbertson, Design Talk Hawaii, KGU, November,
18 2016
2016 Kornegay, Kristina.“Pieces of Napoleon Blownapart: UH Art Exhibit highlights disintegration
through fictional history,” Ka Leo, February 16, 2016
2015 MidWeek Staff. “Gallery Puts Millennial Attitude ‘Into View’.” MidWeek, January 28, 2015
2015 Vitiello, Chris. “Jan Dickey: Watching the Planet,” INDY Week, May, 1 2015