Andrea Dezsö: Family Friends

Born and raised in Romania under restrictive Communist rule, Dezsö found an outlet in the imaginative world of fiction, folk tales, and illustrated books. Dezsö is a multi-disciplinary artist who creates art in a broad range of media, including drawing, cut paper, sculpture, installation, animation, and large-scale public art. Her diverse practice is united by her desire to create open-ended narratives that spark the imagination. 

For ArtPrize 2022 at GRAM, Dezsö has created a window mural titled Family Friends based on a cast of characters she created during the 2020 pandemic and lockdown. To conserve materials, Dezsö began cutting leftover scraps of handmade Japanese paper into creatures she saw as protectors and companions during this difficult and isolating time. In total, she created 117 unique characters, which she has continued to explore through woodblock printing, wood carving, and now mural installation. 

Andrea Dezsö received a BFA in Graphic Design & Typography (1994), and an MFA in Visual Communication (1996) from the Hungarian University of Design in Budapest. In 1997, she moved to New York where she was Assistant Professor of Media Design at Parsons. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design.