John Stephenson Exhibits
Internationally recognized sculptor John Stephenson explores our times and celebrates the art of ceramics in an exhibition at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center. The exhibit opens Friday, Feb. 19 and runs through March 19.
The public is invited to an opening reception with the artist, 6 – 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at the BBAC. Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.
“In the Clay Bird’s Nest” is co-curated by Paul Young and Tom Phardel.
Experts regard Stephenson’s work as highly individualistic, displaying a great range of style, subject matter and approach. The pieces in the BBAC exhibit invite observers to make connections between form, surfaces and interiors.
“Contemporary ceramics bridges a place between painting and sculpture,” Stephenson said. “It invites the painting of three-dimensional form… Clay has been a signature for man from earliest times, telling us what it was like to be alive at a particular time and in a particular place. Clay formed in the hands of today’s ceramic artists will become a reflection of our times in the future.”
Stephenson received his master of fine arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1959. As an educator, he served as head of the ceramic program at the University of Michigan for 30 years. He is now Catherine B. Heller Professor Emeritus, School of Art and Design
Stephenson has exhibited nationally and internationally since the beginning of his career. His work is included in numerous corporate and private collections in the U.S., and museums including those at Alfred University (NY); Cranbrook Museum of Art; Detroit Institute of Arts; and museums in Italy, Poland, Germany, China, and Greece. His wife, Susanne Stephenson, also is an accomplished sculptor and ceramicist. Both are members of the International Academy of Ceramics.
Also on exhibit Feb. 19-March 19: BBAC Student Current Works, a juried show of art created by adult students who range from the novice to the notable.