Delano Dunn (b.1978, Los Angeles, CA) is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts with an MFA in Fine Arts. Delano Dunn’s practice is an ongoing investigation into the history of being Black in America. Using a variety of mediums, particularly well known for his multi-layered collage works, Dunn explores chronologically parallel histories for Americans and the multiple vantage points to understand post-Emancipation. HIstorical-cum-Afrofuturist, Dunn both embraces and challenges the idea of “Black Utopia” - a time, place, and space in which America is an equitable and safe space for Black people.
He has had solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, among others. In 2017 he was nominated for the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship and received the Sustainable Arts Foundation Individual Artist's Grant. He was the 2016 recipient of the College Art Association’s Visual Arts Graduate Fellowship. Group exhibitions include The Wassaic Project, ArtSpace in New Haven, Spring/Break Art Show, Project for Empty Space, PULSE New York, The Delaware Contemporary, La Bodega Gallery, and more. Dunn has been featured in The New York Times, VICE Media’s The Creators Project, and Hyperallergic, amongst others.
Other awards include the Delaware Contemporary’s Curator’s Choice Award, and SVA’s Edward Zutrau Memorial Award and Alumni Thesis Scholarship Award. Residencies include The Wassaic Summer Artist Residency, Project for Empty Space in Newark, NJ, and SPACE at Ryder Farm.