"Robert Dean Stockwell: Surrealist Collage Works Based in the Art Culture and Influences of 1950s Los Angeles"

from American Art Collector Magazine, May 2006

The Surrealist edge of Robert Dean Stockwell's new collage-based work comes out of his knowledge and participation in the 1950s art scene in and around Los Angeles, specifically friendships with artists like Wallace Berman, George Herns and Dennis Hopper.

"Years ago, around 1956, I was living in Hollywood and knew many artists in Santa Monica, like Wallace Berman, and they were really doing cutting edge modern art in California at the time," says Stockwell. "And when I saw it, I didn't even know art like that existed. And that is when I started doing small collage-style postcards for friends and then this continued throughout the 60's aswell."

Stockwell feels that the imagery in each work - most of which is garnered from his over 60 year collection of Life magazine - offers alternative ideas and compositions which the viewer has never been confronted with before.

"I've always felt that the effect of most Surrealist work is that it presents the viewer with impossibilities and images other than what they're used to," says Stockwell. "It's that third thing that didn't exist before, and in this way, similar to Dada as well as artists like Ernst and Berman."

And, for Stockwell to get that look in his work, it is important for him to create each collage spontaneously and without any prior plan or method.

"What happens is I proceed without any preconceptions of what I'm doing," says Stockwell. "I'll look through old magazines, find something that strikes me as a good stage and then starting seeing people as forces, relationships, mainly from intuition and the unconscious."

Stockwell enjoys the creativity that working full-time on his art brings and has completely committed himself to pursuing his art career.

"I feel that this is the most creative part in my life," says Stockwell. "Nothing in acting compares to the complexity of this. As an actor, you throw your whole being out there to be judged, but with art, you can just put ideas out there and people are able to enjoy the work. I hope they stop when they see them and become engrossed in the work because they are about looking, about mystery."

**UPCOMING SHOW
Up to 22 works on show
May 12 thru June 24, 2006
Gerald Peters Gallery
2913 Fairmount
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 969-9410

**PRICE RANGE INDICATOR
Our at-a-glance Price Range Indicator shows what you can
expect to pay for this artist's work.
2006
Small $1,500 - $2,500
Medium $3,500 - $5,000
Large $6,000 - $10,000

**THE GALLERY SAYS . . .
"The social critique and surrealist edge found in the collage
works of artist Robert Dean Stockwell manifest into
narratives that are hauntingly timeless. He aims to
transform basic familiar elements into an entirely novel
window of perception. The resulting collages are varied,
often politically charged, innovative and complex. Mr.
Stockwell's work has been featured at the Whitney Museum
of Art in New York and the Smithsonian in Washington,
D.C."
--Samantha Profitt

The End