Dylan Steinert

Dylan Steinert

Born in Gelndale, CA

Lives & works in San Dimas, CA

 

My work primarily involves painting and photography and revolves around the idea that  the world around us shapes who we are. From the spaces that we inhabit, the  technology that we incorporate into our lives to the inescapable grip of the past we are  molded by forces beyond our control. Many of the images that I make are self portraits  as I want to document how I have been defined by this world specifically in the ways  that I have been defined by my gender. My work often involves confronting the audience either with the reality that what they  are looking at is simply a manufactured image or more often with imagery that is  initially off putting in nature. There is a kind of forbidden fruit appeal to images that are  shocking because while you may initially want to look away but they ultimately draw you  in and make you look closer at the work to figure out why it would display such images  and eventually seeing the intimacy that underlies them. The audience is made to  contemplate why they had such preconceived notions and where they came from. Who  or what defined those notions for them.