Born in small-town rural Australia in 1983, Dean’s love for photography began in his high school’s darkroom- one of the largest darkrooms in the country at the time- and blossomed at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

 

After graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Photography with majors in visual culture and advertising, Dean formed a partnership, Berg+West, which won nationwide acclaim as a high-end photography and post-production studio. Through clients like the QLD Government and SONY, Dean quickly learned to transform stick figure sketches into intricate composited photographs with immense detail and clarity.

 

In 2008, Dean was included in Saatchi & Saatchi’s collection of the world’s top 100 emerging photographers and went on to win Advertising Photographer of the Year at the International Aperture Awards. With success in advertising and a growing list of collectors- Dean decided to dedicate more of his time to the world of art. In the following years, his series ‘Fabricate’ received worldwide recognition from top photography competitions, including: the International Colour Awards, the Lucie Awards, the Loupe Awards, and in 2009, Dean was the winner of the IV International Arte Laguna Prize, Venice, Italy. This final award being the most prestigious for emerging artists with over 5,000 applicants gunning for the top prize in photography, sculpture and painting. Zoom Magazine quickly nominated Dean in the ‘New Talent’ issue of 2010 and the Magenta Foundation awarded Dean an emerging Photographer of Canada.

 

Dean’s body of work is now being collected by a growing number of sophisticated art collectors in Australia, USA, Italy, and Canada.

 

 

CLIENTS

 

 

JWT Amsterdam, The Martin Agency, BCM Partnership, Gallery Depasquale, Sony Australia, The Gallery Group, QLD Government, Jam3, Hilton Australia, Publicis Toronto, Brandhaus, Bloe Agency, Generator, Smart Agency, Media Merchants, UNICEF Canada, Haft 2, Corduroy magazine, City Life TV, Dolce Mag, YYZ Magazine

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

 

Adobe Inspire Magazine, Zoom Magazine, Out of the Box Magazine, After Capture, Blink Magazine, Photoshop Masters, Communication Arts, Flash Forward 2011, Fotomagazine

 

 

AWARDS

 

 

Winner of the IV International Arte Laguna Prize

 

Fotografica, 'Fabricate' Venice, Italy 2010

 

Illustrative Photographer of the Year

 

International Loupe Awards, Australia 2011

 

Pollux Award | Worldwide Photography Gala 2011

 

Directors Special Mention, Fabricate

 

Official Selection Prix De L Photographie Paris

 

Paris, France 2011

 

Advertising & Fashion Photographer of the Year

 

International Aperture Awards, Australia 2010

 

Applied Arts Magazine Winner, Canada 2012

 

‘In Pieces’

 

Emerging Photographer of Canada

 

Flash Forward, Magenta Foundation, Canada 2011

 

Applied Arts Magazine Winner, Canada 2011

 

‘Fabricate’

 

Applied Arts Magazine Winner, Canada 2011

 

‘Around the Bend’

 

International Photography Awards 2011

 

Lucie Foundation 2nd Place, Fine Art Pro, USA

 

AIPP Australian Professional Photographer Awards 2011

 

Creative Photographer of the Year Runner Up

 

Visual Artist of the Year 2010

 

Africa Photographic Awards, Johannesburg, South Africa

 

Winner in the 4th Annual Masters Cup

 

International Colour Awards, London, United Kingdom

 

Applied Arts Winner, Canada 2010

 

‘Fabricate’

 

Applied Arts Winner, Canada 2010

 

‘Every Dink Counts’ QLD Government

 

International Photography Awards Honourable Mention

 

Lucie Foundation, USA, 2009

 

Australia’s Top Photographer Nominee

 

Creative Magazine

 

Advertising Photographer of the Year

 

International Aperture Awards, USA 2008

 

Top 100 Emerging Photographers

 

Saatchi & Saatchi, Cannes, France 2008

 

 

EXHIBITIONS

 

 

"staging and revelation", Art Gallery AFK, Lisbon, Portugal

 

“In Pieces”, Avant Gallery, New York, NY USA ‘2013’

 

“In Pieces”, The Clinton Museum, Little Rock, AR USA ‘2012-2013’

 

“In Pieces”, The Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus OH USA ‘2012-2013’

 

'worldwide biennial WGPA' palais de glace, buenos aires, argentina '2012'

 

'photo reload ' digital natives, romberg gallery, italy '2012'

 

'process' jam3 gallery, canada '2012'

 

'snap' ACT national ballet school, canada '2011'

 

'fabricate' fornace di asolo, treviso, italy '2010'

 

‘fabricate’ one800 gallery, toronto, canada '2010'

 

‘northern lights’ atelier 688, toronto, canada '2010'

 

'fabricate' arte laguna, tese di san cristoforo, venice, italy '2010'

 

‘fwa awards’ potd, hertfordshire, england '2009'

 

‘the new twenties’ idn, los angeles, usa '2009'

 

‘diafragma’ revistas judas, quita, equador '2009'

 

‘showcase’ palais des festivals, cannes, france '2008'

 

australian photographer awards, appa, aus '2007'

 

‘saving daylight’ dell gallery, brisbane, aus '2006'