Dean Monogenis, geboren 1973 in New York, studierte am School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Einzelausstellungen unter anderem in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Athen, Genf, Montevideo (Uruguay).

Statement des Künstlers zum Werk:  "Besides their practical usage, I had never regarded buildings or architecture as more than symbols or monuments to someone else's memory or beliefs. This changed after witnessing the fall of the world trade center. Subsequent to that day, I began to see buildings organically in terms of birth and death. Interestingly the post 9/11 period was the beginning of a world wide building boom. At the time I lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the breadth and pace of this development felt like an invasion. Buildings grew nearly over night like mushrooms or mold before my very eyes. I found it simultaneously engaging and frightening. The instinctual necessity to develop every last inch of real estate was palpable. Buildings that sprouted up would often supplant or sit next to an older building with little regard for continuity or urban planning. There was a strong sense that these decisions were made out of expedience and practical necessity with little oversight. After overcoming my initial shock, I began to distance myself and consider the situation aesthetically. I interpreted the randomness as more akin to the shantytowns in Jamaica or the Favelas in Rio. I took notice of the simplicity and planer forms of the skeletal structures as they ascended upward. Brightly colored building materials like netting and scaffolding, became interesting to me. I thought if there was a way to distill the temporary and all its ephemera, isolating key pieces into my work, then I would be able to elevate the visual indicators that speak to this period of transformation. The concept of transformation -- in theory and practice -- has a firm place in my painting. Though my work looks highly rendered, I employ an active process of editing. Normally, I paint on wood or plastic panels employing customized stencils. Utilizing the dialogue established between different painting techniques, these stencil-applied graphic elements are integrated with areas that I paint freehand. Line, edge, and texture are very important to me as well. To accentuate these formal concerns I often paint things like the sky last, which creates a shallow, imbedded quality to the painted imagery underneath. The effect works to maximize the visual tension on the painted surface, challenging the logic of what naturally should be in front and behind. As the picture develops there inevitably comes a point for revision, that I achieve by sanding and reworking areas to bring them back to a zero state. This ability to erase allows me to maintain precision without forfeiting spontaneity and improvisation."