Dean Millien

Born in 1972, Dean Millien grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and has been creating sculptures out of aluminum foil since the age of 3. Dean, named after Dean Martin, and also known as the “Tin Man,” incorporates his admiration for toys, cartoons, pop culture, and the animal kingdom into each sculpture. He meticulously creates foil pigs, lambs, aliens, thrones, and his favorite, worms, with incredible likeness and precision.

Dean was an artist-in-residence at Summertime Gallery, where he had a solo exhibition, One in a Millien. Dean is included in the MoMA PS1’s Greater New York survey show and was part of the exhibition ABUNDANCE: Too Much, Too Little, Just Right at the American Visionary Museum in Baltimore. Dean taught art at AHRC and was a member of the Con Artist collective and LAND Studio & Gallery.

Visual Arts Residency

August 2026

Dean Millien will be in residence at ArtYard throughout August, creating new work for an exhibition opening Oct. 24 as part of ArtYard’s 10th anniversary season. This residency is a partnership between ArtYard and Studio Route 29, an art studio for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

ArtYard and Studio Route 29’s model of collaboration and inclusion is unique and deeply aligns with ArtYard’s mission to serve as an incubator for creative expression and catalyst for collaborations that reveal the transformational power of art.

Photo courtesy of Summertime Gallery/Nate Langston Palmer for the New York Times