Stephen Rolfe Powell out of control October 17th – November 11th, 2003 ASSISTED BY Chris Bohach, D.H. McNabb, Ken Moore, Paul Hugues and Lynne Williams I would like to dedicate this exhibition to the memory of Sidney “Buddy” Marx - Stephen Rolfe Powell
MARX♦SAUNDERS GALLERY, LTD 230 WEST SUPERIOR STREET CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60610 PHONE 312-573-1400 FAX 312-573-0575 marxsaunders@earthlink.net www.marxsaunders.com
COVER DETAIL AND BACK COVER Sarcastic Bulging Sigh 2003 213/4” x 27 3/4” x 101/2”
LEFT Puffy Tingle Pulse 2003 141/2” x 191/2” x 12”
RIGHT Lemon Spanky Nudge 2003 16 3/4” x 23” x 10”
LEFT Baby Blue Chopper 2003 221/2” x 9” x 9”
MIDDLE Igniting Buxom Tenacity 2003 39 3/4” x 201/4” x 201/4”
RIGHT Winking Tangy Orb 2003 361/2” x 26” x 26”
The Color of Air The history of vessels has long emphasized the surrogate relationship between the body and these prosaic containers fashioned to sustain life. But usually such containers — bowls, cups, vases — are meant to hold the visible physical elements, whether liquid or solids, of the natural world. Stephen Powell’s forms depart from this tradition. The elongated necks and distended torsos of his sculptural vases are fashioned to entrap the invisible molecules of oxygen that surround and feed the body. The viewer is made aware of the air pressure that appears to inflate Powell’s sculptures through the downward thrusts of the narrow throats which connect to the bulging masses anchoring each work. The weight of the invisible gas passing under great pressure into these waiting chambers is palpable in the multi-colored cellular patterns that stretch to the point of bursting across the contours of these organic protuberances. The elastic kaleidoscope patterns Powell creates lend both form and color to the otherwise unseen and shapeless gases one inhales. These psychedelic weavings, which resemble living tissues that have been chemically altered, establish the emotional tone for each work. Through the distorted grids of undulating color, Powell suggests that breathing is not a passive activity. How one chooses to ingest their surroundings shapes their internal chemistry. Through the luminous layers of our physical and emotional tissues we color the gases we inhale and which we, ultimately, expel back into the world. John Brunetti John Brunetti is a Chicago-based critic and curator
LEFT Ruby Peacock Glare 2003 331/2” x 23” x 13”
RIGHT - DETAIL Ruby Peacock Glare 2003
LEFT Blue Licking Jitter 2003 39” x 231/2” x 121/2”
MIDDLE Yelling Canyon Tear 2003 49” x 181/2” x 181/2”
RIGHT Dawn Cracking Giverny 2003 25 3/4” x 9” x 9”
Stephen Rolfe Powell 1951 Born Birmingham, Alabama 1983-Present, Professor of Art, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky 1983 Louisiana State University Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1980 Birmingham-Southern College Alabama Teaching Certificate, Birmingham, Alabama 1975 The Provincetown Painting Workshop, Provincetown, Massachusetts 1974 Centre College, Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Ceramics, Danville, Kentucky
SELECTED MUSEUM COLLECTIONS The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, Wisconsin Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan The Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama Mobile Museum of Fine Art, Mobile, Alabama Birmingham Museum of Art (Harriet Murray Purchase Award) Birmingham, Alabama Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia Lvov Art Institute, Lvov, Ukraine
RIGHT Copious Solar Lips 2003 391/8” x 201/2” x 201/2”