Dean Gustafson was born on September 6, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into a large family of artists and musicians. He was strongly influenced by the creative direction of his family and by the wealth of public art in the Minneapolis area, and began painting in the early 80's.
For over a year he lived in Alaska, where his attraction to the themes of the far north began developing. Later, during two extensive trips to northern Europe, particularly Scandinavia and Germany, this thematic direction intensified.
He attended both the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota, studying fine art, and simultaneously pursued an interest in music, drumming in particular. In 1986, he moved to the bay area to attend the Academy of Art College, where he received his BFA in 1990.
Gustafson's work has been shown in galleries in Minneapolis and San Francisco, In the summer of 1992 he had a solo show at Fort Mason's Bayfront Gallery.
Gustafson is currently travelling in Europe and sending back postcard drawings of his destinations. Specific concerns have been the runestones of Sweeden and Proust's Parisian haunts.
Artist's Statement