Nathan Madrid and Eric Stevens
Chadra Mezza and GrillTuesday, January 10th
6 -8 PM
Join us Tuesday, January 10th at Chadra Mezza and Grill, one of Fort Worth's most-loved restaurants. Complementary light Mediterranean hors d'oeuvres will be served, with a cash bar. The restaurant will be open for dinner.
Nathan Madrid - "My work is representational of the everyday objects we encounter; the figure, a sink, or a tall building that can be transposed to the viewer. The paintings are measured by the emotion and conversation it leaves with the viewers inviting them back to discover more. The technical aspect of my work is a growing process, continually gaining knowledge of my environment. Seeking to expand, I draw from old masters and current figure painters that have inspired me to document the realistic nature of my subject. Continually refining the process, learning, and allowing the painting to open the dialogue with the viewer."
Eric Stevens - “I am interested in the relationships between complex detail and simple composition, classical rendering of form and modern reduction. I think there is an interesting tension there. A lot of my work describes simple organic forms, like flowers. These paintings often use vibrant true-to-life color to depict the subjects, while their settings take the subjects out of their expected contexts. The perspective and scale furthers this, isolating the subject, and bringing the viewer closer.”
The Artwork of Nathan Madrid and Eric Stevens
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
6 -8 PM
Chadra Mezza and Grill
1622 Park Place Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76110
817 926 3992
chadramezza.com
nathanmadrid.com
CONTEM?ORARIES Show
CONTEM?ORARIES: A Survey of 21st Century American Artists
July 14 to October 14, 2011
Reception for the Artists
July 14, 6 - 8pm
The Fort Worth Central Library
500 W. Third St.
Fort Worth, TX 76102-7305
817 392 7701
We live in an Age that is unparalleled. Our understanding of history, and what has come before, is enormous. This becomes clear when we look at Contemporary Art.
We have been painting and drawing for thousands of years. These were the methods of the cavemen, and they are still used by artists today. At some point, artists discovered that the use of a preliminary “sketch” drawing could help perfect form and composition in their paintings. This shows the very beginnings of how different artistic techniques inform each other. A more modern example is Photography, which is much younger, and has since its birth been influenced by painting. Today this kind of confluence works in all directions; and can be seen throughout the Art World: Artists using the oldest techniques, things like painting and drawing, being influenced and inspired by the newest disciplines like Photography and Cinema. We have artists inspired by Mathematics and Literature, drawing things that exist only in the imagination. We have photographers capturing the magic of the overlooked and the everyday. And of course we have artists who are inspired by the Age itself.
Daniel Blagg, Pat Gabriel, Jane Hansen, Sam Ivie, Jill Johnson, Bruce Jordan, Nancy Lamb, Leslie Lanzotti, James Lassen, Nathan Madrid, Daniel Scott, Eric Stevens, Justine Stevens, Clint Stone, and Elaine Taylor were chosen for the CONTEM?ORARIES Show because of the breadth of techniques and influences their Works represent, and for the interesting juxtapositions to be found bringing them together.
Contemporary Art sets no limits upon itself, but rather learns from its varied incarnations. Just as Artists use any of the tools at their disposal, and influence each other with what they create, in their pursuit of Beauty.
VIRTUE Show article at SIGNUM International Society For Mark Studies
“Perrin and Stevens worked together to create an integrated set of painted memory images, insignia and text-based exegesis with the ambitious goal of capturing the fundamental cultural elements of all societies that attach deep significance to the figure of horse and rider.”
Signum is an international society established to advance the study of human mark use and to support scholars and other specialists focusing on mark studies as a distinct field of inquiry.
VIRTUE: Chivalry as a Memory Tradition
By Eric Stevens & Oliver Perrin
Artspace111
111 Hampton Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
www.artspace111.com
817.692.3228
Exhibition will be on display through June 1, 2011
The paintings by themselves can be seen here>
VIRTUE Preview Document Available
VIRTUE: Chivalry as a Memory Tradition
By Eric Stevens & Oliver Perrin
For those of you who have not made it to Artspace111 yet to see “VIRTUE: Chivalry as a Memory Tradition”, or who are interested in further contemplation of the show, a pdf preview is now available online. This file includes all thirteen paintings, and the explanatory text that accompanies them:
Chivalry_Preview.pdf
The paintings by themselves can be seen here:
http://ericstevensart.com/paintings.html
Reception for VIRTUE
Opening Reception Thursday, April 21, 5 - 8 pm
The metaphor of the horse and rider is a central cognitive device. In Spanish we have caballo “horse” and caballero “gentleman”. In Portugese cavalo “horse” and cavaleiro/cavalheiro “horseman, gentleman”. In French, cheval “horse” and chevalier “gentleman” or “knight”. In German reiten “to ride” and Ritter “knight, gentleman”. In English “cavalry” and “chivalry”.
Clearly, the horseman is a very old and important symbol of individual empowerment. In many cultures to ride is to be distinguished and elevated. The signs associated with horse culture comprise a ‘book’ of Chivalry.
Chivalry is expressed here as a memory tradition, in which a given set of objects (literally “material culture”) encodes constellated meaning and knowledge. The associated images, signs and text we present are intended to foster awareness of a whole greater than the sum of its parts, a gestalt view of how deep cultural archetypes sometimes operate continuously, regardless of whether we happen to be aware of it. They are also intended to stimulate the viewer to consider the richness and continuing applicability of these cultural archetypes as a consciously understood heritage – one that lays bare the nature of the social forces in operation around us, regardless of what it may be fashionable to call them today.
Artspace111
111 Hampton Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
www.artspace111.com
817.692.3228
Places Remembered, Things Forgotten
FWCAC and Clifton Capital Partners presents: Places Remembered, Things Forgotten
by Eric Stevens
December 10, 2010 - February 18, 2011
Reception for the Artist Friday, December 10, 2010 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Open Monday through Friday 9:00 - 5:00
Call 817-738-1938 or visit
The Gallery at Clifton Capital Building
5201 Camp Bowie Blvd Fort Worth Texas 76107
CliftonCapital.com
FWCAC.org
Gallery Night is Saturday September Eleventh, 2010
Artspace111
Saturday, September Eleventh, 2010
Gallery Night
2-9pm
111 Hampton Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
817-692-3228
Preservation is the Art of the City Art Show & Sale
Historic Fort Worth, Inc. invites you to Celebrate with the Artists
Spirits • Appetizers • Advance Sales
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
Opening presentation at 6:30
Shopping begins immediately following the presentation
Festivities continue until 9:30
The Fort Worth Community Arts Center
1300 Gendy Street in the Cultural District
Complimentary Valet Parking
The show is open to the public at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center(www.fwcac.org) during regular hours from September 10 – 25. On Gallery Night, September 11, the show will be open from 5-9pm, and serving beer thanks to the wonderful Rahr & Sons Brewing Co.
Questions? Please call Corry Smith at (817) 336-2344 x100
or email at corry_smith@historicfortworth.org
Historic Fort Worth, Inc.
817.336.2344 x112
www.historicfortworth.org
Art & Interview with Eric Stevens in the Fall 2010 issue of Poet and Artists Magazine
Art & interview with Eric Stevens in the latest issue of Poet and Artists Magazine. Buy it or read it online
here:
Wally Workman Gallery 30th Anniversary Show
August 7 - September 4, 2010
Wally Workman Gallery is 30! Opening Reception Saturday, August 7th 6-8pm. Starting in only two small rooms within a 100 year old historic home on West Sixth Street, the gallery has gradually expanded to occupy the whole house. Workman garners an impressive roster of 50 artists who work in diverse mediums and subject matter. Always evolving, this includes artists that have been with the gallery for decades as well as those that were just signed this year. The anniversary show will include works by all their artists; old and new, figurative and abstract, small and large, and everything in between.
Wally Workman Gallery
1202 West 6th Street
Austin, Texas 78703
512.472.7428
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10am-5pm
CONTEMPORARY REALISM
Contemporary Realism
is a new Exhibition featuring the work of Tracey Harris, Eric Stevens, Leslie Lienau, and James Smith.
Opens Friday, July 2, 6 P.M. - 10 P.M., 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma --The July exhibit at JRB Art at The Elms will showcase the work of four artists who specialize in contemporary representational painting. The body of work that Tracey Harris has prepared for this show is primarily figurative, while Eric Stevens has painted a series of landscapes. Leslie Lineau and James Smith will be exhibiting still life paintings. While the subject matter and styles of these artists are different, all the work produced by the four artists closely resembles forms and subjects that can be found in the natural world. In contrast, the sculptural work of Harolyn Long that will be shown in the Ship Gallery is abstract in nature. The exhibit will open with a public reception on July 2, 2010, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at JRB Art at The Elms during the monthly Gallery Walk in Oklahoma City's Paseo Arts District. The show will run through July 30, 2010.
JRB Art at The Elms
In The Historic Paseo Arts District
2810 North Walker
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73103
405.528.6336
Gallery Hours: Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun 1-5
THE JOURNEY FOR TCU
My most recent commissioned work is “The Journey”. I was contacted by Texas Christian University via Margery Grella at Artspace111. The folks at TCU were looking for a signature piece for the entryway of their newly-built Honors College.
The piece is 60” x 36”, oil on canvas. Developing the concept and painting the piece was intense. For me, "The Journey" suggests Time, and our passage through it. Our perception of our own future is obscured by our limited perspective, but it is not entirely unknown to us. There are choices we can make with known probable outcomes, and we illuminate more of these as we go. "The Journey" is Life, and the wonders it contains, and remembering to enjoy each moment.
STAINED GLASS WINDOW AT WESTSIDE UU CHURCH
I recently helped design a stained glass window for Westside Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Worth. This fantastic project became a reality though the combined Creative efforts of Master glass Artist John Kebrle, Carl Romano, and myself. The window was installed February 26 2010, and is five feet across. There will be a Dedication ceremony later this month, please contact Westside UU for more details.
DEVELOPING THE DESIGN
The Unitarian Universalists are a great bunch: They are kind of secular and philosophic with a focus on altruism, and are influenced by a lot of very different spiritual traditions. However, there's not a ton of symbolism and imagery that is uniquely "UU" with which to play. I had recently started a painting that prominently featured a singular tree, and designed a big Tree tattoo for a friend of mine, so the Axis Mundi, Tree of Life, and Yggdrasil concepts were fresh and prominent in my mind. The symbol of the Tree is nearly universal, and appears in all the major religions of the world. It can represent nature, reality and rationality. It can represent the World itself, while simultaneously aspiring skyward, and suggesting the connection to the spiritual. And of course it can symbolize Life. The ring/circle in the middle is something I came up with, meant to suggest inclusion and community, and also the cycles of sustainability. The Flaming Chalice in the foreground is the traditional UU symbol; Its inclusion identifies this Church, and embodies its traditions.
John Kebrle's aesthetic and visual style is amazing; strong forms, primary colors, yet fluid, and full of poetic subtlety. See more of his beautiful work at JohnKebrleStainedGlass.com.
If you would like to see this window in person, Westside UU Church is at 901 Page Avenue in Fort Worth. More information at WestsideUU.org.
ERIC STEVENS AT WALLY WORKMAN GALLERY IN AUSTIN
I am proud to announce a new Gallery relationship: I am now represented by Wally Workman Gallery in Austin.
Established in 1980 and located in a 100 year old historic house in Austin’s art district, the Wally Workman Gallery has two stories of exhibition space where one can view the works of the rich and varied selection of artists currently represented. The Art here covers the spectrum; Conceptual, Contemporary, Modern, and Traditional, in forms ranging from sculpture to painting. The works shown are very diverse, yet their caliber and level of execution are impressive, and consistent.
This new partnership is in addition to my continuing representation with Artspace111 in Fort Worth, and Dean Day Gallery in Houston.
Wally Workman Gallery
1202 West 6th Street
Austin, Texas 78703
512 472 7428
ERIC STEVENS CALLED “ARTIST TO WATCH” IN AMERICAN ART COLLECTOR MAGAZINE
From American Art Collector, September 2009:
“The overall strength of the art market seems to be sustaining itself. Regardless of the current economic situation, art is still selling. Our clientele includes private collectors and corporations.
Most of the artists we represent work with oil on canvas. Our landscape paintings seem to be in high demand. We have a couple of artists that do portraits and those seem to be popular commission pieces as well.
Landscape painter Dennis Blagg's pencil drawings of his larger pieces sell well. Nancy Lamb's aerial portraits of people in action have also proven popular. Painter Eric K. Stevens and sculptor J.C. Pace III are both artists to watch.
—Margery Grella, Director, Artspace111.
All images copyright Eric K. Stevens unless otherwise noted. ©2011. All rights reserved.