Dustin spent the most impressionable times of his childhood on a family ranch near the Badlands of Western South Dakota. The ostensibly overwhelming vast and isolated areas of this region of the Great Plains encouraged Dustin to journey inward searching for a similar vastness in the amorphous expanse of human consciousness. Contemplation, labor, discourse and emotional stillness are all reoccurring themes throughout Dustin's work.
Dustin received a Bachelor of Science in Fine Art in 2006 and a Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts in 2007 from Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD. In 2004, he studied art abroad focusing on advanced figure drawing as well as painting restoration and preservation in Florence, Italy under Audrey Flack and Dr. Roberta Pallucci. He graduated from Washington State University Pullman, WA in 2009 with a fully funded Master of Fine Arts (4.0) majoring in painting and minoring in sculpture and digital media.
His work has been in many national and international exhibitions including the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA, the Rogue Space Gallery, Chelsea New York, NY, the Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, MO, the Porter Butts Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, the Museum of Art, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, the Ridenbaugh Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, the Siena Art Institute, Siena, Italy, the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA, the North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND, and Salon am Moritzplatz in Berlin, Germany.
Dustin has been the past recipient of numerous institutional honorariums and distinguished awards including the Vice President’s Curriculum Development Grant at Iowa Western Community College, the Arts South Dakota Artist Relief Grant, funded by the Bush Foundation/Arts South Dakota, and the Washington State University Graduate Scholar Award. Dustin’s teaching practice has also been recognized at several institutions. He received the Reiver Recognition for Teaching Excellence, Iowa Western Community College, Council Bluffs, IA, an Outstanding Faculty Award Nominee, Mott Community College, Flint, MI and at the Center for Teaching and Learning, Mott Community College, Flint, MI. In addition, he has also delivered over 20 lectures on his artistic and teaching practices at varying institutions across the United States. Dustin currently resides in Portland, OR where he continues his art and teaching practices.
Dustin is the Curator and Director of Gallery Gray, a nontraditional online gallery space. The goal of Gallery Gray is to have international solo and group exhibitions for emerging to mid career artists interested in utilizing a digital gallery format. Since 2009 Gallery Gray has had 43 exhibitions and over 235,000 online visitors from over 66 countries. To view the gallery please select the link below.