Colby Deal is a photographic artist born and raised in Houston, Texas and received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in the practice of photography from The University of Houston. Within his practice he explores the culmination of elements of the psychological environment as well as the physical. He shows the dynamic range of family, community and the individual by combining street photography and portraiture to capture vibrant communities.
In recent years he has incorporated the medium of sculpture and public art as a means of preserving cultural characteristics that are being erased. Colby is directly inspired by his upbringing through seeing his family’s photographs that were mostly taken by his father.
This appreciation for slowing down and concentrating on photographing what’s right in front of him, “The Now” has led him to be more in touch with using analog photography. Deal is an alumni of Project Row Houses summer residency, Red Line Contemporary Art Center residency in Denver, Colorado and has recently been awarded an exhibition at the Houston Museum of African American Culture.