Eric Stephenson is a fifth generation artist and son of a sculptor. Eric's work explores the form, spirit and experiences of the body, human and otherwise, rendered through abstraction and informed by industrial materials and methods.
Erica arrived in Chicago, August 2021. Within a short timed sourced a studio and cold called numerous sculptors in the city and found out a preeminent Sculptor needed a welder. Eric found himself at the doorstep of Richard Hunt. Eric and Richard developed a relationship based on their mutual love of material and process and passion to bang on metal. That lasted for over 30 years.
Statement
As Bodies interact in space, they create an abstract language that I seek to capture through a graphic, three-dimensional silhouette detailed by the subtleties that reside in the transitions between bone and muscle, torso and limbs, line and mask.
The resultant forms are vessels with an implicit but unknown interior, conveyed through the cover-plates, portals, and fixtures that often provide a sense of the future.
The Abstract landscape hides the obvious signifiers of the human form and allows the cloaked intentions of the figure to be revealed. The result is best seen when the forms are located within the public realm, where they mingle with others and begin the subtle conversation that only the subconscious can hear.