Last year the San Francisco-based artist Dean Larson participated in the Triton Museum of Art Salon at the Triton and won its Best of Show (as one of 2,100 entries). That achievement entitled him to mount a solo show there, and now “Dean Larson: Urban Visions, Life in Motion” is on view as part of the institution’s 60th-anniversary celebrations.
At a Glance:
“Dean Larson: Urban Visions, Life in Motion”
Triton Museum of Art
Santa Clara, California
tritonmuseum.org
through December 7, 2025
Larson notes, “Two themes have consistently inspired my artist’s eye. The first is life in the city. Having relocated from Alaska to Oregon to Maryland and finally — in 1997 — to the Bay Area, San Francisco has become a source of compelling subject matter. From Russian Hill to North Beach, from Market Street to Golden Gate Park, the city changes constantly and presents ever-new perceptions and subjects. With my second subject, figures, I search for accidental moments where people reveal the variety of human experience and show glimpses of what it means to be living today.”
He continues, “As a contemporary realist, it’s never enough to copy what’s in front of me. I want to go deeper and search for what is most significant. Intentional soft blurs contrast with hard edges to have objects and figures come forth and recede and fuse to backgrounds within pictorial spaces. I search for mass shapes and abstract patterns that, during my painting process, eventually become more realistic — a challenge that inspires me to keep painting every day.”
