Dean Allison Works

Biography

Dean Allison is a studio artist working with portrait sculpture and the figure with glass. His studio is in Pittsburgh PA. He received his Master of Art, Visual Arts in glass from The Australian National University in Canberra in 2010 and a B.S. in Studio Arts from Illinois State University in 2001. He has worked at The Northlands Creative Glass Center in Scotland, The Canberra Glass Works in Australia, Chicago Hot Glass, Pilchuck Glass School. He has taught at The Penland School of Crafts, The Pittsburgh Glass Center, The Bullseye Glass Factory in Portland OR and The Glass Furnace in Istanbul Turkey. Public collections include The Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon MI; The Julie Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn AL; Hinson Art Museum, Wingate NC; and The Imagine Museum, Sarasota FL.

Artist Statement:

My work is about portraiture and documenting physical details that tell a story of a specific person. What I do lends itself to a tradition of portraiture that goes back centuries, yet in a new way. Glass is a unique material that has the inherent quality to represent the characteristics of humanity and a potential to capture the finest details that give insight to one’s identity. A portrait of someone in glass celebrates their life while achieving a highly detailed three-dimensional photograph that will last forever. As an artist, making a portrait mold allows me a unique opportunity to have an intimate encounter with an individual, getting to know them, observe their mannerisms, and develop a closer relationship with them. This time involved with making an initial mold is my favorite part of the process.