PAUL STEPHENSON

Conceptual Art

Paul seeks to express art through thought itself. He uses existing artwork, objects and unusual materials then juxtaposes contradicting or complementary art-forms upon them. Sometimes he repurposes materials or items in such a way as to make the viewer step outside the mundane obvious perception of that item and for a moment glimpse a different universe.

He is most known for his revolutionary artworks upon old master paintings. For example in the image above, you can see how the printing of a simple square upon this portrait painting bridges centuries of technological growth and paradigm shifts. Now it becomes a snapshot on a smartphone!

Enquiries to Toby Jacobs: +44 (0) 7973 530 777

email: info@johnjacobsstudio.co.uk

Further information:

https://paulstephenson.com/

"Looking into the Past..."

Hologram suspended in front of Portrait of a Man, oil on canvas circa 1850.

This radical conceptual artwork combines the latest in hologram technology with an old master oil painting. The hologram works by a spinning propeller with LEDs, this is fixed in the centre of the oil painting. When the propeller spins it creates an image that floats in mid-air. In this artwork the image is an animation of moving clouds.

"Sometimes metaphorical clouds obscure our memories and history and so to truly look into the past we must persevere until the clouds disperse and we finally see the whole picture clearly."

"Timeless Moments..."

Photograph of Paul's daughter looking out of a window printed on top of two old master oil paintings. The paintings are portraits of two men.

"The moments spent sitting for a photo or a portrait painting are timeless moments. They are moments of just being, no other purpose except being present for the photographer or the artist. Then interestingly both the photo and the painting immortalise those timeless moments, becoming timeless moments for the future viewers of the artwork."

This is perhaps Paul's most audacious work. The original paintings are by Joseph Mordecai 1851-1940, painted 1871 and the sitters are Crosse and Blackwell (founders of the well known food brand). The original paintings are valued together at around $150,000. So this is a real statement artwork, not only printing on top of old master paintings, but significant, historical and valuable paintings. This brutally points out how the present always overwrites the past without any judgement of value or importance.