About

My way of life is guided by a core value that there is simply too much waste in our culture. Therefore, almost all the materials for my work are salvaged from the waste stream, purchased second hand, or found. What I create is guided by the materials that I gather: from wood and paint to fabric and found objects. I look for items that have a certain texture, shape, color, or history that I feel a connection to. Using these pieces as a starting point, I set an intention and create a set of imposed guidelines to structure the process. I am continually curious as to what can be done with each material.

Being a maker, I feel compelled to create. I focus this energy into an art practice working with intuition, rhythm, and pattern. The practice is a meditation that allows me to slow down and translate the experience of my emotions into a visual language. This emotional energy sets a rhythm that informs my process of making things. The rhythm is realized through the various stages that I take a piece through as dictated by my materials, from painting, to deconstructing to re-assembling. I am driven by the challenge of creating a visual balance through the physicality of materials and ephemera of emotion.

-Dustin Klein