Artist Spotlight I Ian Stephenson
Ian Stephenson
Small Threefold C, 1968
Oil and enamel on three canvases
Overall:
114.4 x 152 cm
45 x 59 ⅞ in.
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"Pictures of nothing which are about everything. Pictures of a limitless scale which are pictures of minute particulars. Countless happenings in time present as one simultaneous expression. Emptiness filled with matter. Solids filled with space."
- Andrew Forge, Ian Stephenson’s obituary, The Independent Exhibition Overview (2000)
This week, we are celebrating the work of Ian Stephenson RA. Born on January 11th, 1934, in County Durham, Ian Stephenson was one of the most important British painters of his generation. Mesmerising and immersive, his work displays a distinct sensitivity to minutiae, while simultaneously playing with techniques of scale, depth, composition, form and function. Tiny dots of paint, each individual and distinct, float in constellations over mixed-media surfaces such as boards and palettes, and allow peculiar depiction of the forces of nature.
Ian Stephenson
Progressive plane: blue 59, 1959
Painted collage on board
60.5 x 60 x 2 cm (framed)
1ft 11 ⅞ x 1ft 11 ⅝ x ¾ in. (framed)
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Ian Stephenson
Blue Shadow: Giusti I, 1960
Oil on canvas
Artwork: 101.6 x 76.2 cm
3ft 4 x 2ft 6 in.
Frame: 108.5 x 83 x 4.5 cm
3ft 6 ¾ x 2ft 8 ¾ x 1 ¾ in.
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They are full of minute particulars, heading towards infinity. – Andrea Rose OBE, CMG on Stephenson’s painting.
As a young man, Stephenson painted topographical watercolours of the Northeast coast with his father, an amateur painter and journeyman. He studied Fine Art under Professor Lawrence Gowing at King’s College, Durham from 1951-56, and later went on to teach at the university alongside Victor Pasmore and Richard Hamilton on their highly influential ‘Basic Design’ course. His work has been shown in numerous major solo exhibitions over the years, including at the Laing Art Gallery (1970); the Hayward Gallery (1977); The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (1978) and in 2010, was presented at the Yale Center for British Art, CT, USA, as part of the group show The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art from the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie. In 1966, Stephenson’s work was included by Michaelangelo Antonioni in his seminal film Blow-Up.
Stephenson’s work can be found in several public collections, including the Tate, London; the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; the Victoria Art Gallery, Melbourne, Australia; the Royal Academy of the Arts, London; The British Council, London and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast, amongst many others.
In 1962, the New Art Centre gave Ian Stephenson his first solo exhibition in London, a painting from which was acquired by the Arts Council. The gallery continues to represent his estate, and has a wide range of work available from every period.
Ian Stephenson
Triptych: Ante Meridian, 1978
Watercolour on paper
Artwork: 34.5 x 50.5 cm / 13 ⅝ x 19 ⅞ in.
Frame: 54.5 x 68 x 3 cm / 21 ½ x 26 ¾ x 1 ¼ in.
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All of painting is camouflage, not least of all by means of subject matter whatever the sentiment. It is within the freaked skin of camouflage that the art resides. […] Overlapping and obliterated. Oblivion. Such is the practice of palimpsestial painting. - Ian Stephenson (April 1974)
Ian Stephenson at Roche Court Sculpture Park, 2005
Published to coincide with the major exhibition of Ian Stephenson's work at the New Art Centre, Roche Court, 10 September - 13 November 2005.
Ian Stephenson
Essays by Sean Scully and Clive Phillpot
2005
Published by the New Art Centre, Roche Court
Paperback
270 x 210 mm
Pages: 18
ISBN: 0954775244