AMY STEPHENS
LAND | RELAND [PORTLAND]

September 6 – October 27, 2018
Preview reception Wednesday, September 5, 5:30 to 7:30pm (artist present)
First Thursday opening September 6, 6:00 to 8:00pm (artist present)
First Thursday art walk October 4, 6:00 to 8:00 pm

THE WORK
For her first solo exhibition in the United States, London-based artist Amy Stephens presents a series of totemic forms incorporating objects and imagery sourced from nature, as well as steel and acrylic forms that respond to architectural features in the gallery. Stephens approaches sculpture with a minimalist aesthetic, working intuitively to create assemblages from materials suggestive of urban living. These materials are often sourced from local landscapes or by re-appropriating from previous works.

This approach is typical of her practice: through encompassing diverse media and methods of creation, Stephens’ main concern is with the reclamation of natural objects, architecture, the temporary nature of ‘things’ and minimalist aesthetics. In juxtaposing objects and textures from nature with materials and forms from urban architecture, Stephens aims to explore shifting patterns of meaning and the potential for narrative in how we understand relationships between landscape, architecture and sculpture.

A concurrent exhibition of Stephens’ works opens at William Benington Gallery in London, UK on September 27, 2018. That exhibition will feature natural objects sourced from Oregon.

THE ARTIST
Amy Stephens (b.1981 London) is a recent Trustee of the Royal Society of Sculptors and holds an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UK (2008). Her many accolades include an Artists' International Development Award from Arts Council England and the British Council (2016); a Villa Lena Artist Residency in Tuscany (2015); a Triangle Network Award to Muscat, Oman (2013) and an Artist Residency at The Banff Centre, Canada (2010). Recent solo exhibitions were held at venues including The Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, UK (2018); Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2015) and William Benington Gallery, London, UK (2015). Several collections house her work, such as the David Ross Foundation, Modern Forms Collection, The Rothschild Collection, Soho House Collection, Villa Lena Foundation and Zabludowicz Collection, among others.

PRESS
Land | Reland: an Interview with Amy Stephens - 60 Inch Center
The Many Sides of Amy Stephens’ Dual Shows - Wall Street International
Amy Stephens at William Benington Gallery and Upfor Gallery - Ravelin