Artist Statement
My practice is rooted in the urgent, uncompromising necessity of distillation. Existing perpetually between worlds, indigenous and diasporic, the historical gravity of the American South and the vanguard of digital technology, the global expanse of living abroad and the deeply localized space of home—my internal landscape is defined by a relentless cacophony. I carry the profound generational weight of ancestral survival alongside the rapid, chaotic acceleration of modern life. Moving through the world carrying all of these histories, cultures, and expectations creates a constant, deafening noise in my mind.
The canvas is the only place I can control the volume.
I work in large-scale abstract geometric expressionism not as an exercise in formal minimalism, but as an act of visual noise-cancellation. I work in large scale abstract geometric expressionism because it is a survival mechanism. The process of creation is an intensely private, physical battle to silence the internal clamor of joy, grief, exhaustion, and obsession. Within the sanctuary of the studio, I use sound (music) to drown out the world until I can hear exactly what the canvas demands. A piece is only resolved when the specific geometry of a curve or the precise proximity of a color frequency locks in, neutralizing the chaos.
The resulting hard-edged structures, stark lines, and rigid color palettes are the artifacts of this solitary war. They are not merely shapes; they are anchors. By reducing the immense, heavy complexity of an unquiet existence into pure, uncompromising form, my work is a simple execution of a profoundly complex reality. It claims space and stillness in a world that refuses to stop spinning, offering the viewer the same hard-won, absolute quiet that I fight for in the studio.
Artist Bio
Dee Speed is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice bridges large-scale abstract geometric expressionism, digital architecture, and high-end design. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, to African American and Lakota Sioux heritage, Speed’s work is deeply informed by a life lived at the intersection of contrasting worlds. Her practice navigates the historical gravity of the American South and the vanguard of the Silicon Valley tech industry, where she shaped the global digital landscape as the first Black Design Director at Alphabet and led interactive design for Google, YouTube, and Disney.
A self-taught powerhouse across multiple disciplines (spanning interior curation, industrial design, photography, and graphic illustration), Speed utilizes this diverse mastery as the foundation for her fine art. Her geometric abstracts are an exercise in ultimate distillation, translating a maximalist, multifaceted existence into an uncompromising architecture of control.
Speed’s philosophy is anchored by her guiding principle and trademark, "Decadence As A Birthright," a conceptual reclamation of space, luxury, and autonomy. Her early prolific period was marked by international representation and exhibitions at prestigious institutions including MoMA and the Tate Gallery. Her fine art and acclaimed industrial design work have been acquired by private collections such as the Saatchi Gallery and Samsung Headquarters, and featured in prominent publications including Dwell, Elle Decor, and Vogue Living.
Following a relocation back to the United States from Australia, Speed was pulled away from the gallery circuit by executive leadership in the tech industry and the building of her family. However, the sheer volume and complexity of these intertwined worlds necessitated an urgent return to the canvas. She came back to her practice for safety, utilizing paint to quiet a life that had become entirely too loud.
Her comprehensive creative practice operates under her studio brand, deedee9:14. Currently working between her studio in Mountain View, California, and her historic family home in New Orleans, Speed is an active institutional advocate, serving on the board of directors for the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) and on the 2021 Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) Design Council in San Francisco. Across all of her disciplines, she continues to build visual sanctuaries that demand order and offer profound quiet in a chaotic world. She also continues speaking engagements at tech conferences around the world.
Artist CV
Studio: deedee9:14 Locations: Mountain View, CA | New Orleans, LA
Representation History
2000 to 2008 | Moda Rouge Art Consultants, Hans-Peter Langeder (Australia)
Selected Solo & Group Exhibitions
2009 | Colour Chart: Reinventing Colour, 1950 to Today, Tate Gallery, Liverpool, UK & MoMA, New York, NY
2008 | Colourbound Minimalism, Z Cafe, Oakland, CA
2006 | Greenstone Gallery Opening Launch, Emerald Beach, NSW, Australia
2005 | The Art Hotel Show, San Francisco Hotel Des Arts, San Francisco, CA
2004 | The Modern Simplicity of Dee Adams (Solo), Moda Rouge Gallery, Black Rock, Australia
2004 | Neo Mod: Modernist Paintings by Dee Adams (Solo), Blender Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2004 | Simple Space, Modern Colour, Blender Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2004 | Out From Down Under and Beyond, Soho Gallery, New York, NY
2004 | Integrity of Minimal, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia, PA
2004 | Summer: International Collective Show of Contemporary Art, Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain
Select Corporate & Public Collections
Samsung Group Headquarters, Seoul, South Korea
Yahoo! Inc. Corporate Offices, Sunnyvale, CA
Saatchi Gallery (Private Collection Inclusion)
3DGeo Corporate Offices, Melbourne, Australia
Hidden Beach Records, USA
Crooked Prism Offices, Chicago, IL
Executive Experience & Creative Tenure
Digital Architecture & Design Leadership: First Black Design Director at Alphabet. Led groundbreaking structural and digital ecosystems as Director of Design for YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, Creator, and Abuse Trust + Safety.
Interactive Design & Product Development: Served as Interactive Design Manager at Disney and Designer at Google, driving the vanguard of digital media products, cutting-edge artificial intelligence, and user experience.
Industrial Design & Editorial Recognition: Original cane chair design featured in Dwell Magazine (May 2022), currently holding pride of place at Blk Girls Greenhouse in Oakland, CA. Named a standout illustrator by Elle Decor, with abstract minimalist work prominently featured in Modernism, Vogue Living, and Wallpaper* magazines.
Commercial Licensing: Licensed photography featured globally by Apple Inc. for mobile product launches.
Art Direction: Former Art Director for the non-profit arts collective F3 at the Cotton Mill, Oakland, CA.
Multidisciplinary Design: Practicing interior design curator, graphic illustrator, and photographer.
Selected Press & Publications
Dwell Magazine (May 2022 feature on original cane chair design)
The Times Picayune / NOLA.com
Elle Decor (Named a Standout Illustrator)
Apartment Therapy
HuffPost
Modernism Magazine
Vogue Living
Wallpaper Magazine
Herman Miller Blog
The North Elevation
Institutional Appointments, Philanthropy & Special Projects
Board & Council Leadership: Active Board of Directors Member for the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC). Appointed to the 2021 Design Council for the Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Architectural Preservation: Dedicated advocate and supporter of architectural preservation and traditional cultural history in the New Orleans region, including features in the PRC (Preservation Resource Center) Home Tours. - Laussat Society Supporting Member of The Historic New Orleans Collection - Conservator Member of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.
Broadcast Placement: Commercial art featured on Australia's Next Top Model and Project Greenlight Australia.
Philanthropic Art Auctions: Contributed works benefiting the Recent Past Preservation Network for Richard Neutra's Cyclorama Center, Kind Women for Womankind (Oakland, CA), and the Misfits of Modernism II Architectural Benefit (Washington, D.C.).