Dolan Geiman’s collage art has an ethical core. Made from reused materials he has collected and salvaged since being a child, his collages are assembled from a variety of sources: anything from reclaimed wood and salvaged metal to vintage papers.
Handcrafting each work from start to finish, the result is highly textured and intricately detailed art pieces and collages that can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to complete. “I like to spend time reminiscing on the past while flipping through the pages of decades forgotten magazines, intently searching for the perfect shape, color, or texture within a periodical’s pages to add to my archive of collage elements,” writes Geiman on his website, reflecting on his creative process.
“I decided on the medium of collage because I didn’t have money to buy ‘proper’ supplies like fancy brushes or even canvas when I first started out,” he explains. “The paper I used then and still use today comes from abandoned spaces – old farmhouses, burned down buildings, abandoned gas stations, and the like.”
Multilayered and rich in narrative, his artwork weaves tales of foregone eras and untamed wilderness – landscapes, scenery, and characters that are inspired by the world he grew up in. “I grew up on a farm, caught crickets and bailed hay, painted with mud, dug up civil war relics, listened to midnight mockingbirds,” writes Geiman poetically. “These are the ingredients of life that have stuck with me and have built the foundation for the artwork I set forth into the world.”
Below are some highlights from his Instagram page.
