Felicia Francine Dean is an assistant professor in the College of Architecture & Design’s School of Interior Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her creative work explores uncovering parallel approaches to reconciling space and place through the lens of her biracial experiences in her craft and design processes. The background she draws upon is based on growing up in South Florida and living in the Southern United States.
Dean’s approach navigates her discovery of latent material identities. Her work references the medium of textiles, physically or abstractly, to uncover new material narratives through digital and hand-making methods. She uses various media, including fabric, natural fibers, wood, metal, fiberglass, and stone. Her time at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft will focus on investigating and evaluating historical, overshot weaving patterns and unveil their codes as contemporary stories.
Dean holds an MFA in interior architecture, a BA in studio art, and an upholstery diploma. Her current project, Perceptions of Misconceptions: Intersecting Stone and Fabric Material Identities, is supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The Windgate ITE residency; Marble Codes exhibit in Florence, Italy; and Interior Design Educators Council and Furniture Society conferences highlight some of her professional engagements.
To learn more about Felicia Francine Dean’s work, visit: https://www.feliciafrancine.com/
