COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: THOMAS DEAN
/Local artist, musician, and all around creative force, Thomas Dean has been a steady contributor to the energy and atmosphere at Studio IX over the years. His screen printed posters line the halls, his pop-up vintage clothing rack was a much loved fixture in the café for a time and his dj skills have energized events both big and small. This summer, Thomas will be having an exhibition in the gallery — seemed like a good time to check in with him.
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Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?
Thomas Dean. Artist, musician, screenprinter.
What do you love most about the work?
The name Infinite Repeats. It refers to the repetition in printmaking.
You recently launched a new project here in Charlottesville. Could you tell us a bit about it?
It's called Infinite Repeats . It is a membership based print shop in collaboration with Visible Records.We will also offer classes and workshops.
How did you arrive at this point in your career? What’s your backstory?
I started playing music in highschool and wanted to make t-shirts and flyers for my bands. I was screenprinting at home and making flyers using Xerox machines in local copy shops.
I later got a job in a commercial t-shirt shop. There I was able to learn the more professional side of screen printing and apply that to running my own small shop.
You’ll be showing work here in The Gallery at Studio IX this summer. Anything you care to share about what that might look like?
I'm hoping to finish some new silk screen print work as well as show some of the collage xerox flyer and poster work I made going back 20 years or so. Most of the images originated in drawing or magazine and book clippings.
What’s got your attention these days? What are you excited about?
I'm really excited about our new shop. I have been freelancing and working alone for a while now. I think it will be fun to get back to collaborating and working with other artists.
And I'm looking forward to some of the community events in the space. Music shows, print events and markets.
Anything we missed?
My band New Boss turned ten this year! Come see us!
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Thomas (& Infinite Repeats) can be found at: infiniterepeats.com