STEVEN THOMAS DEO

STEVEN THOMAS DEO Steven Thomas Deo was born in the Indian Hospital of Claremore, Oklahoma on September 30, 1956, to Martha Sue (Brown) and Thomas Deo, full blood members of the Euchee and Creek Nations. He began his journey Sunday, November 14, 2010, at the age of 54. Steve lived and worked in Fort Worth, Texas at the time of his death. He graduated from Tulsa's Webster High School in 1974, when he began a prolific career as a visual artist. Steve held a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and an Associate of Fine Arts in both 2- and 3-Dimensional Art from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. He performed post-graduate work in visual arts at both the University of Oklahoma and Purdue University. Steven Deo has an extensive international exhibition history, including shows at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, the San Jose Art Museum, Eco-LA in Los Angeles, the Center for Contemporary Art, the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum in Santa Fe, and Deutsche Bank in NYC. In 2003, he was awarded 5th place for sculpture at the Biennale Internazionale Dell Arte Contemporanea in Florence, Italy. Steve was invited to participate in "The Legacy Project," an interactive global exchange about the enduring consequences of the many historical tragedies of the 20th century, in 2004. That same year, he was awarded a print-making residency at Crow's Shadow Institute, Pendleton, Oregon, as part of the "Migrations" project. In 2005, Steve performed a full-scholarship residency at Anderson Ranch Contemporary Art Center, Vail, Colorado, and participated in the exhibition, The Demise of Democracy, at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California. He received the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Artistic Merit in 2006. Steve most recently was a key speaker at the University of East Anglia, Norwich UK. His artwork is in public and private collections across the world, including: the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, and the San Jose Art Museum, as well as numerous scholarly publications. He participated in several IAIA Alumni Shows and exhibited a one-person show at the IAIA Museum, Room for Thought, in 2006. Steve was included in Visions from Native America: Contemporary Art for the Year of the Indigenous Peoples in 1992, the first Native art show of national scope on Capitol Hill. He was a teacher and a student of fine art, always exploring new ideas, cultures and new media, most recently painting with liquid vinyl. Steven Deo is survived by his wife, Rebecca Adamietz-Deo, Rosie, Ellee and Jett Deo of Fort Worth, Texas; three brothers: Vincent Deo (Hannah, Oklahoma), Daniel Deo (Sapulpa, Oklahoma), and Michael Deo (Tulsa); and three sisters: Carla Deo and Kristi Deo of Los Angeles, and Linda Lou Deo (Claremore). He was preceded in death by his brother, James Deo. Following cremation, Steve will be taken to Canon Beach, Oregon. Memorials may be made in Steven's name to Defenders of Wildlife.