Biography
Dettmer
is originally from Chicago, where he studied at Columbia College.
He currently lives and works in Atlanta, GA.
Dettmer’s
work has been exhibited and collected throughout the United States,
Mexico and Europe. He has had solo shows in New York, Chicago, San
Francisco, Miami, Atlanta and Barcelona and has had projects exhibited
in Mexico City, Berlin and London. He has been represented at several
international art fairs including Pulse (Miami), MACO (Mexico City),
ARCO (Madrid), Scope (London, Miami), Art Chicago (Chicago) and
many others.
He
is currently represented by Kinz + Tillou Fine Art in New York,
Packer Schopf in Chicago, MiTO Gallery in Barcelona, Toomey Tourell
in San Francisco and Saltworks in Atlanta. Dettmer’s work
has been exhibited Internationally in several museums, universities
and art centers including the Museum of Art and Design (NY), Museum
of Contemporary Art (GA), the International Museum of Surgical Science
(IL), Museum Rijswijh (Netherlands), Wellcome Collection (England)
the Bellevue Arts Museum (WA), The Kohler Arts Center (WI), and
the Illinois State Museum (IL). His work can be found in several
private and public collections throughout the U.S, Latin America,
Europe and Asia.
Dettmer’s
work has gained International acclaim through internet bloggers,
and traditional media. His bibliography includes The New York Times,
The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, AJC, Modern Painters, Wired, The
Village Voice, Harper’s, Time Out, The San Francisco Chronicle,
and National Public Radio among several others.
Artist
Statement
The
age of information in physical form is waning. As intangible routes
thrive with quicker fluidity, material and history are being lost,
slipping and eroding into the ether. Newer media swiftly flips forms,
unrestricted by the weight of material and the responsibility of
history. In the tangible world we are left with a frozen material
but in the intangible world we may be left with nothing. History
is lost as formats change from physical stability to digital distress.
The
richness and depth of the book is universally respected yet often
undiscovered as the monopoly of the form and relevance of the information
fades over time. The book’s intended function has decreased
and the form remains linear in a non-linear world. By altering physical
forms of information and shifting preconceived functions, new and
unexpected roles emerge. This is the area I currently operate in.
Through meticulous excavation or concise alteration I edit or dissect
communicative objects or systems such as books, maps, tapes and
other media. The medium’s role transforms. Its content is
recontextualized and new meanings or interpretations emerge.
|