Dan Tranberg

Dan Tranberg, an Archived Artist as of 2022, was born March 5, 1964, in Newark, New Jersey to William and Delores Tranberg. An influential artist, art critic, and educator, Tranberg is most well-known for his emotive geometric abstract paintings.

Although having always been intrigued by abstract painting, Tranberg earned a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art with a focus on ceramics from Northern Illinois University in 1988. In 1991, he received a master’s degree in drawing and photography from Purdue University which he attended with a full scholarship and teaching assistantship. Tranberg furthered his education even more in 1994 by taking graduate-level courses in contemporary theory and criticism at the University of Illinois.

After completing his education, Tranberg moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he set his roots as a professional artist. Much of his art is nonobjective, geometric shapes and patterns filled with sequences of colors that offer space for contemplation. Tranberg experimented with mediums ranging from digital printmaking to collage but favored painting and the bold yet subtle ways that colors could influence each other. He stated that, “When I paint, it’s like I have my own impulses, my own intuition, and then I really pay a lot of attention to the accidental qualities of the medium … So to me, it’s this very interesting dialogue between my ideas and then, really, the ideas of the material.”[1] His artwork became consistently exhibited at Bonfoey Gallery and he earned the Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship in 2002, as well as the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in 2007.

At the same time, Tranberg had become a prolific art critic who helped transform the Tremont, Ohio art scene by reviewing the group of experimental artists working in the area, one of whom was his partner and fellow Archived Artist, Terry Durst. Tranberg aimed to expand coverage of artists nationally and subsequently wrote for many publications, including The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Free Times, Art in America, BOMB, and Angle: A Journal of Arts and Culture, co-founded by Tranberg, Douglas Max Utter (Archived Artist), and Amy Sparks.

Additionally, Tranberg taught as a Professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art starting in 2000 and was an instructor at Maine College of Art’s MFA Program in 2006 and Cuyahoga Community College in 2007. All the while, he showed his art in faculty exhibitions at Tri-C and CIA.

In 2012, Tranberg released his book, Acrylic Fusion: Experimenting with Alternative Methods for Painting, Collage, and Mixed Media. He essentially created a comprehensive book explaining painting theory through the lens of abstract painting and made it applicable to other mediums. His years as a painter who experimented with materials and how color and form complimented each other, coupled with his experience as an art critic and educator, made his book a clear example of his skill and the understanding he had of his craft. It is an approachable book for artists and non-artists alike, just as his artwork is.

At 53 years old, Tranberg passed away on May 29, 2017, from heart failure as a result of a long battle with leukemia. He continued to paint until his death, ultimately leaving behind a collection of work that he claimed acted “…as a space in which to envision that which is not otherwise visible.”[2]

[1] Dave DeOreo, Artist, Critic and Educatory Dan Tranberg Passes Away at 53 (Ideastream Public Media, 2017).

[2] Micah Brown, Carrying Forward at Bonfoey (CAN Journal).