Steven K – Bio
The beginning of creating from my perspective is to approach each canvas anew and pursue the opportunity to have a new interaction with that surface. The idea of starting with very, little if anything accept a simple image in the beginning and then creating something completely new from the encounter with the creative consciousness is extremely appealing. I am inspired by a variety of artists including John Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Brice Marden, Helen Frankenthaler, Gerhard Richter to name a few. The individuality of their works incredibly inspiring.
I have reviewed Gerhard Richter’s work and I am very interested in his ideas of deconstructing abstraction. He questions the meaning of abstraction with regards to social constructs of image both with recognizable and unrecognizable imagery. He seems to be challenging convention in terms of what abstraction was and is for us today. I have applied paint to the surfaces of my canvases and then proceeded to remove and deconstruct the paint to reinvent the image in different ways.
I have also seen some Brice Marden paintings and was very intrigued by his use of a stick or extension of himself to make the marks. I find that Pollack and Marden were attempting to detach themselves from the canvas so the essence of the paintings would reveal themselves. I have attempted to use tools that would extend my reach into the painting with the use of extension devices; I find it very challenging, mainly because I enjoy the direct contact with the canvas. I am very tactile, physically connecting with the canvas. I enjoy the feel of the paint as I apply it to the surface.
I have pondered the work of Kara Walker on an ongoing basis. She has awakened in me a feeling of pain, humiliation and history. She depicts violence, sexuality, strength, and truth within her imagery of antebellum victims and victimizers from which I find it difficult to turn away. I am considering adding imagery to my work that speaks to these past atrocities and how they are very connected to our world today.
The beginning of creating from my perspective is to approach each canvas anew and pursue the opportunity to have a new interaction with that surface. The idea of starting with very, little if anything accept a simple image in the beginning and then creating something completely new from the encounter with the creative consciousness is extremely appealing. I am inspired by a variety of artists including John Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Brice Marden, Helen Frankenthaler, Gerhard Richter to name a few. The individuality of their works incredibly inspiring.
The work I have done over the past few years has been influenced by the people I have met the memories I have from my childhood. I am drawn to strong bold lines and sharp angles at time in my work. Whenever I visit a museum, I tend to move towards the contemporary or abstracted works. I particularly like Picasso’s planes of line, angles and perception which make up the images. I am also drawn to Luc Tuymans, whose paintings are reminiscent of faded photographs with washed out faces appearing to look back at the viewer, with unexpressive and threatening eyes. I have been working with a palette knife over the past few years, however I have begun to work a variety of mark making tools, which I find to be very liberating have completed several paintings using these tools.
Olafur Eliasson’s work is something I had an opportunity to witness at the Tate Modern. The weather project exhibit encouraged viewer engagement in the experience and stimulates both visual and physical participation. I look forward to developing projects where the viewers are surrounded, enveloped, and surprised by the experience.
As a visual artist my goal is to allow creativity and inspiration to flow without interruption. Honesty is what is most important in painting — working towards understanding what is within oneself and allowing this truth to spring forth without pretense. The journey through creating the painting and the discoveries I find along the way, as I apply a variety of media to the canvas, are what I most enjoy.