Review :
"Stephen’s work can be seen in a contemporary context along side Pop art, comic book genre and American artists such as Jeff Koons, but the historical references of the ‘Mythology’ give his work an interesting twist" NICK ARCHER BA honsRA Artist
Review :
Stephen is interested in big subject matter, using ancient Greek legend as a way to voice
concerns about the hypocrisy of our contemporary world. Grand themes, of ancient heroes and
anti heroes are reflected in the scale of large allegorical paintings which have their own energy
and make powerful physical statements.
A strong collection of exuberant, accomplished life drawings and other preparatory research underpins the paintings. Stephen has built on a solid observational foundation and continues to use the visceral medium of oil paint in the tradition of allegorical painting but subversively.
He is developing a personal aesthetic which will allow him to express his keen interest in socio-political commentary. He references the world of advertising, kitsch and American Pop Art invoking modern cultural heroes such as Andy Warhol, James Rosenqust.
‘Taking your Liberty’ tackles its theme of modern day injustice on an illustrative level, elevating morality and message over painterly language.
Symbolism is used in ‘An athlete wrestling with a serpent’. An obese man, struggles with evil depicted as a wonderfully
detailed serpent which sinks vicious talons into his flesh. Flames leap around but the sunflower symbol of Ukraine suggests a topical interpretation of this combat between good and evil.
‘Hercules and Cacus’ contrasts the visual aggression of graffiti with two figures of the ancient world, frozen in time and locked in mortal combat. I felt it succeeded on several levels at once. Subject matter works both as metaphor for our times and also in creating dramatic visual tension, combat between the destructive energy of contemporary graffiti on a subway wall, that most two dimensional of languages, and the illusion of the classical sculptural form represented in the two figures. A culture clash between tradition and provocative new visual language. This was done without over elaboration and the economy of the painting achieves a sense of power. Stephen uses a monochrome palette heightened with small flashes of colour, red green and yellow which go off like firecrackers around the composition. Touches of gold are used to highlight form, and lift us from the grim world of the subway into another time of myth and legend. We may not be familiar with the literal meaning of the narrative but can be left in no doubt about the moral Stephen puts forward, the continuation of violence from one society and time to another . We find a touch of humour in the tag ‘comfy’ on the wall, an irony reminding us that this world is far from comfy.
"Pandora and Prometheus." This is a complex composition using ideas which are collage driven and creating anomalies of space and time.Two figures from different times and places confront each other against a contemporary urban landscape to which neither belong. ‘The Dream’ loads the surface of the painting with collaged images of war. Contemporary soldiers march across the canvas alongside figures and faces from other times. Elaboration is used in both compositions, disturbing the eye and creating a sense of unease.
These good ideas deserve to be explored on a larger scale giving them room to expand.
Veronica Ricks MA RCA .Artist and Principal of Heatherleys
Review:
Stephen has an extremely cogent and sophisticated set of skills acquired through dedicated practice and educative experiences at Heatherleys and in art schools elsewhere. His use of oil paint is confident and assured; this proved a sound basis to achieve his ambitious and complicated iconographic aims. It is clear from the paintings exhibited that he endeavoured to use paint in a much more visceral way. This he achieved which not only extended his skills but lent greater depth and complexity to his iconography.
This bore fruit in his definitive works which demonstrated a range of intriguing juxta positionings which were derived from non-linear thinking which makes up the essence of collage methodology.
Stephen’s experiments with photo-transfer and litho printing were particularly strong and may have been the catalyst which adjusted his vision away from the illustrative which was evident in his first major work concerning the myth of Silenus, the Greek deity Bacchus’ stepfather.
Having abandoned the illustrative approach to picture making Stephen went on to develop much more sophisticated and interesting ideas and working strategies which involved a myriad of types of visual thinking, technical attack and complexity of imagery which defied logic and called for a Barthian suspension of disbelief in the viewer. This propelled him on to a higher level of sophistication as regards meaning, content and the use of signs and signifiers. This was partly due to his awareness of the debates generated by Post-Modernist thinking, including the issues underpinning Pop Art which he combined with Post-Structuralist and Semiotic thought which are dominant in 20th century cultural theory.
His influences were many and varied. Some were derived from High Late Modernism in the USA [Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), Jasper Johns (b.1930) Andy Warhol(1928-1987) and James Rosenquist (1933-2017)]. In addition to this, his subject matter and imagery were frequently derived from The Tradition: Classical sculpture and the work of Antonio Canova (1757-1822). Other important inspirations stemmed from urban, non-fine art manifesting itself in graffiti and low-fi advertising. Stephen enjoyed subversively indulging in the often kitsch nature of these aggressively non-fine art manifestations. From this complexity of opposing influences and sources he forged a series of coherent images.
Given the complexity of Stephen’s vision, the essence of the aesthetic, in the conventional meaning of the word, was skewed. Thus, it was necessary for him to reinvent an entirely personal ‘aesthetic’ from scratch. Once he had found his process he did this remarkably rapidly; it sustained him throughout his intensive period of work and creativity. Standard judgements regarding ‘beauty’ cannot be applied to Stephen’s work. This is the core of his achievement. His satisfying of this regard resided in the invention of a complex set of original, subjective aesthetic criteria which found its roots in literalism. Adopting this strategy necessitated an iconographic approach to picture making which in Stephen’s case was very successful. This approach should continue to bear fruit in his ongoing creative development.
This assessment does not afford the space to unpack the philosophical, cultural and theoretical contexts of Stephen’s work. Needless to say they are magnificently varied and challengingly complex. In addition, they possess a radical political dimension which undermine and, to some extent expose, the duplicity of this era. Suffice to say that his cultural positioning is founded on posing controversial questions aimed at the social and cultural status quo and hegemonies, along with exposing the illogical nature and absurdities of cultural movements in general (for instance, Post-Modernism ). This is effected, simultaneously, with fully celebrating enthusiasms for genuinely radical innovators like Miles Davis and Paula Rego. In a nutshell, it would be fair to conclude that all of Stephen’s creative motivations are driven by socio-political, cultural and philosophic thinking which is constantly readjusted in his imagination and intellect. FRED CRAYK ARTIST and art Academic DA; PGDFA(Edin.); PGCE; PGC(3D Design, Distinction)(UAL); PGC (History of Art & Architecture, Dihttp://www.fredcrayk.com/stinction)(University of London)
Review:
I got a great deal of pleasure looking at all your works. Without exception they all exude a brisk, confident visual decisiveness and clarity of imagery. The quality of conception and execution is impressively consistent throughout, and one feels that each painting has been worked to a very thorough conclusion.
You appear to have sought out and found potent solutions to enable a marriage of your abundant painting and drawing skills, with the more problematic area of post modern conceptual imagery and theories.
I see post modernity as largely a corrosive and harmful force on culture, and society more widely, and find its value largely redundant. You have however brought references of this language and its culture cleverly to your paintings, and although not fully immersed within the imagery they play a lively and creative role within the overall impact.
Ancient and modern myth vie alongside each other, all resulting in punchy commentaries, full with sensual painterly expression and visual stimulation. There are some very inspiring passages in your works, where the quality of execution is extremely powerful, these are largely figurative passages but also colouristic in nature too.
I was able to view some lovely qualities in your folder of drawings and printmaking too, both showing very obviously delight in and vitality from the life drawing process and printmaking experience. The relative simplicity of imagery and purer gesture showed me an availability of qualities.. ANDREW JAMES RP ARTIST
REVIEW:
Stephen’s interest in myth and narrative combined with his political interests make for some striking images. For me, the most powerful of these is ‘Pandora and Prometheus’. As well as combining ancient and modern motifs it incorporates a self portrait giving the painting an unmistakable subjectivity and personal meaning. This draws the viewer in, while remaining interestingly cryptic.
MINNA STEVENS MA RCA ARTIST
