Ian Stephenson
Encyclopedia
Ian Stephenson was an English abstract artist. Stephenson trained at King's College, Durham along with Noel Forster
and had his first solo show in London at the New Vision Centre in 1958. An exhibition of his work was exhibited at the Hayward Gallery
in 1977 and his work can be found in the collections of the Tate
, the British Council
and Whitworth Art Gallery
. His work was also featured in the 1966 film, Blow-Up
by Michelangelo Antonioni
.
He returned to King's College, Durham to teach with Victor Pasmore
and Richard Hamilton
.
Since his death, his work has been exhibited at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
in Gateshead
.
Stephenson's work was characteristically made by splattering droplets of paint onto paper or canvas and repeating this with many different colours. Because the layers are applied quite widely the final look effect is determined not only by the colour and quantity of the spots of paint but by the order in which they were applied.
In September 2010, Stephenson and five other British artists including Howard Hodgkin
, John Walker
, John Hoyland
, Patrick Caulfield
and R.B. Kitaj were included in an exhibition entitled The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art From the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, at the Yale Center for British Art
.
In his obituary, published in The Independent
the painter Andrew Forge
described his work as:
Noel Forster
Noel Armstrong Forster was a British artist who trained at King's College Newcastle a part of Durham University, graduating in 1957.He was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland and attended to Gosforth Grammar School....
and had his first solo show in London at the New Vision Centre in 1958. An exhibition of his work was exhibited at the Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
in 1977 and his work can be found in the collections of the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
and Whitworth Art Gallery
Whitworth Art Gallery
The Whitworth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The museum is located south of the Manchester University campus, in Whitworth Park....
. His work was also featured in the 1966 film, Blow-Up
Blow-Up
-History:Claudio Camaione and Paolo Cilione came to New York City in the late 1990s, then further on to Southern California to build their studio for recording and film editing in a villa overlooking Silver Lake...
by Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
.
He returned to King's College, Durham to teach with Victor Pasmore
Victor Pasmore
Edwin John Victor Pasmore was a British artist and architect. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s.-Biography:...
and Richard Hamilton
Richard Hamilton (artist)
Richard William Hamilton, CH was a British painter and collage artist. His 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, is considered by critics and historians to be one of the...
.
Since his death, his work has been exhibited at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is an international centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne alongside the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, North East England, United Kingdom...
in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
.
Stephenson's work was characteristically made by splattering droplets of paint onto paper or canvas and repeating this with many different colours. Because the layers are applied quite widely the final look effect is determined not only by the colour and quantity of the spots of paint but by the order in which they were applied.
In September 2010, Stephenson and five other British artists including Howard Hodgkin
Howard Hodgkin
Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin CH, CBE is a British painter and printmaker. His work is most often associated with abstraction.-Early life:...
, John Walker
John Walker (painter)
John Walker is an English painter and printmaker.Walker studied in Birmingham. Some of his early work was inspired by abstract expressionism and post-painterly abstraction, and often combined apparently three-dimensional shapes with "flatter" elements...
, John Hoyland
John Hoyland
John Hoyland RA was a London-based British artist. He was one of the country's leading abstract painters.-Life:...
, Patrick Caulfield
Patrick Caulfield
Patrick Joseph Caulfield, CBE, RA was an English painter and printmaker known for his bold canvases, which often incorporated elements of Photorealism within a pared down scene.-Life and work:...
and R.B. Kitaj were included in an exhibition entitled The Independent Eye: Contemporary British Art From the Collection of Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, at the Yale Center for British Art
Yale Center for British Art
The Yale Center for British Art is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut at Yale University which houses the most comprehensive collection of British Art outside the United Kingdom...
.
In his obituary, published in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
the painter Andrew Forge
Andrew Forge
Andrew Murray Forge was a British painter, academic, and art critic....
described his work as:
"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."