Dennis Kleidon_Artist Page
Transformation #3, 2020, Acrylic on canvas,
41 ½” x 31 ½” (Framed), $ 4,600.00
Bursting with Life
Kleidon’s paintings are not Minimalist. They are deeply personal. You see the motion of the creator’s hand. They are in no way blank – on the contrary, they are bursting with life. In some of the paintings, the motifs exist in sequence, placed on a plain surface. In the work entitled Turbulence, the most elaborate example here, there are a full dozen painterly signs, arranged in tidy lines, like capital letters in an illuminated manuscript. You are invited to ‘read’ the painting, not just to stand there and look at it.
Part of the explanation for Dennis Kleidon’s art can be found in his professional biography. This covers a very wide variety of fields. In the visual arts, he trained not only in painting, but also in architecture, sculpture and graphic design. The impact of all these can be seen in how he chooses to paint. In addition, he trained as a classical pianist.
This exhibition is not simply the work of someone who likes making paintings and is good at that. It is the product of someone who is obsessed with the idea of communication – with using paint on a surface to transfer ideas-plus-sensations (the two things are in this case inseparable) from his mind, his sensibility to yours.
Kleidon’s paintings have plenty to say, powerful symbolic messages that can be embodied directly in paint on a surface. They don’t necessarily need images you have met before. Nor, for that matter, do they really need words.
Edward Lucie-Smith
The Walter Wickiser Gallery is pleased to present four new collections of paintings by Dennis Kleidon. Professor emeritus, author, and artist, Kleidon has been featured in recent solo and group shows in New York City, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Palm Desert, California. At the height of the mid-century abstract expressionist movement, Kleidon was studying art, architecture, and music, all of which became significant influences.
Dennis Kleidon paints dynamic abstractions exploring the excitement of paint in action. His work has been recognized by the world-renowned art critic, Edward Lucie-Smith, as “deeply personal” and “bursting with life.” Lucie-Smith says “Kleidon’s paintings have...powerful symbolic messages.”
“’Round Midnight” and “Poinciana”
Kleidon’s love of life, music, and art is seen in two new series of paintings, “’Round Midnight” and “Poinciana.” Inspired by jazz piano, choreography, and musical theater, these paintings honor the complexity of musical scores and performance. Kleidon’s paintings are fluid, but well-planned and structured to express beauty and detail. As one views these paintings, the imagination reveals abstract images of jazz greats Ahmad Jamal and Thelonious Monk performing in dimly lit jazz nightclubs.
“Unleashed” and “Transformation”
Dennis Kleidon’s recently published book, Unleash Your Imagination: Transform Your Life, sheds light on the celebration of life that his paintings embrace, inspiring readers to transform from their current reality to a new and exciting vision of the future. A third and fourth series of paintings, “Unleashed” and “Transformation,” give visual form to the power, exuberance, and potential of such a transition.
Chicago-born artist Dennis Kleidon paints robust abstractions that unleash the imagination and explore the possibilities of paint in action. Kleidon is obsessed with transforming the creative spirit into an explosion of dynamic forms and colors dancing on the canvas. Movement, action, and carefully positioned brushstrokes appear as violent gestures within his paintings, but have an underlying composition that is fluid, yet balanced.
The forms within his paintings are almost sculptural, emanating from his background in architecture and sculpture. Built on a textural background, influenced by the textured boulders in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, Kleidon’s paintings display a tension between a calming background and the violent application of direct, but well-planned brushstrokes. Each painting is an experiment, integrating color, bold strokes and the beautiful dynamics of flowing textures within. These explosions of grace and power create an unexpected visual counterpoint. Dissonant, yet composed, the paintings display nuances that stretch the imagination and stoke the dreams of the viewer.
In his most recent series, paint explodes out of the graphic borders to express an aggressive dynamic over the relaxed, meditative background textures. Appropriately enough, this series is called “Unleashed,” a title shared by a book Kleidon has written called, Unleash Your Imagination: Transform Your Life and the public presentations he gives, encouraging others to unleash their imagination as a way of unlocking their hidden passions.
Always the teacher, Kleidon wants the freedom, power and optimism of his paintings to enrich the lives of all who see and own them. “Experience the excitement of bold colors in motion and their abstract implications. Become saturated in their visual potential.”
Kleidon received a Master’s degree in Art from Illinois State University, a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, studied architecture at the University of Illinois and taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Akron where he developed Designer Grids, a three-point perspective drawing system for architects, designers and artists. He is the founder of Kleidon and Associates a marketing communications firm. He has exhibited his work in solo and joint shows in galleries, museums and juried exhibitions throughout the United States. His Designer Grids have been used by professional artists and designers around the world. He now divides his time between his studios in Phoenix, Arizona, and Akron, Ohio.
Book by Dennis Kleidon: Unleash Your Imagination, Transform Your Life
Unleash Your Imagination is all about the wonderful adventure of developing a vision for a new life. Written by acclaimed fine artist and designer Dennis Kleidon, Unleash shows how to use design thinking to challenge your normal routines, increase the power of your imagination, and harness new sources of creativity.
"For those of us with a dream or unrecognized dreams Unleash Your Imagination is a must read. Its step-by-step approach uses artistic and imaginative design thinking as a disciplined process for achieving your goals and dreams in life."
—Walter Wickiser, President, Walter Wickiser Gallery, NYC