I use abstraction as a vehicle to think about my relationship to the world around me. Through my work I contemplate the underlying networks and relationships upon which social reality is built. We are each nodes of subjectivity within an ever-expanding network of dizzying complexity. On the one hand, we are accelerating toward a digital singularity without tactility, a social sphere that is digitally mediated, smooth and without texture. On the other hand, we crave analogue experiences, objects that we can feel with our eyes, materiality that is more than pixels of projected light. I find the mutability of symbols, patterns, and geometry as carriers of meaning to be a source of endless inspiration. Even the most For me, the challenge of abstraction is to find a mode of picture-making that resonates with my lived experiences.

​My paintings are in private collections across the United States and have been exhibited at galleries and venues in Philadelphia and Detroit, such as the Esther M. Klein Gallery, Automat Gallery, Urban Outfitters’ corporate headquarters, Whitdel Arts, and the Detroit Artists Market. Starting in late 2022, I have a painting on view at the Ambassador's residence at the US Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon as part of the US State Department's Art in Embassies program.
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Born 1985 in Detroit, Michigan. 

MFA, 2013 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
BFA, 2007 University of Michigan

​​Purchase a book : 
Paintings 2016 - 2021​
Paintings 2014 - 2016

To purchase work email [email protected]
Follow me on Instagram: justinkingsleybean
Musical endeavors: https://www.discogs.com/artist/3318421-Justin-Bean
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