Panelist Biographies

Multimedia artist and teacher, Max Dean’s performances, installations, videos, and photographs have contributed greatly to contemporary art of the latter half of the 20th century up until today. Born in Leeds, England, in 1949, Max Dean emigrated to Canada with his parents in 1952. Just prior to graduating with a degree in art history from the University of British Columbia in 1971 Dean began practising as an artist. Immediately after graduation, Dean began working as an art installer and exhibition designer at the Vancouver Art Gallery. This experience inspired him to explore the relationship between the artist, the art work, and the viewer. His work has been featured in international exhibitions in England, Germany, and at the Venice Biennale, among other international venues. A prolific artist who has availed himself of almost every possible medium of communication to make his art, from the pencil and camera to complex technologies, the Robotic Chair conceived of early on in his career but finally realized in 2006, is among his best-known pieces. A recipient of the Ontario Arts Council Jean Chalmers National Visual Arts Award (1997), the Gershon Iskowitz Prize in 2005 and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (2014), Dean’s work is included in the collections of the Ottawa Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario and also held in several private collections.