{@name}
{@size} • {@medium}
All images ©LaFontsee Galleries. May not be reproduced without written permission.
Stephen Schousen • Profile
Raised in Chicago, Stephen Schousen recalls growing up around Frank Lloyd Wright homes. Even as a small child, he was drawn to their minimal decor and extreme geometry. Today, using a printing method almost five centuries old, Schousen combines images of architecture and nature to produce intriguing series of intaglios. Walls, doors, arches and floors, etched or engraved with engineer-like precision, juxtapose organic objects rich in shape and texture. Inviting the viewer to enter a dense collage of distorted and fragmented images, Schousen challenges us to identify and consummate disjointed figures suggested among small groups of arranged abstract forms. The collage of many images onto one plate and the distortion of an image into an unreadable abstraction, Schousen believes, parallel the processes of thinking and dreaming, of design and the ordering of space - a metaphor of the human mind.
The initial spark for much of Schousen's work is simply his direct reactions on copper plates to a small group of forms and shapes he finds visually compelling. He then masterfully employs a variety of intaglio processes to explore and develop the suggested abstract shapes, textures and tones from the original image. Any successful or gripping fragments of representational form from the initial drawing are developed and, at times, repeated to create the final ordered and rhythmic product.
Schousen received a Bachelor of Arts from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio and studied Life Drawing and Printmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. He went on to graduate from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking. Currently an Associate Professor of Art at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he divides his time between his family and teaching.
Stephen Schousen • Statement
In these images, I seem to be intrigued with the idea of combining a variety of representational fragments which when juxtaposed with abstract textures and tonal areas, hint at a narrative that remains unexplained or at least open to multiple interpretation. Ironically, I am consciously involved with this narrative only as the image nears resolution. The initial spark for much of this work is simply my direct reactions on copper plates to a small group of forms and shapes, which I find visually compelling, usually arranged in a shallow, recessed space. From there, the image develops in two directions. Abstract shapes, textures and tones suggested in the initial image are explored and developed using a variety of intaglio processes. At the same time, successful or compelling fragments of representational form, from the initial drawing, are developed and at times repeated. As these two processes collide and overlap, the initial image is lost and new, unexpected images emerge. This process continues until the balance of tone, line, edge and texture is clear and restful. It is my hope that in addition to creating a recognizable image, this process results in a combination of formal elements that will strike a responsive chord within the viewer and encourage participation in the resolution of the image.
Stephen Schousen • Biography
EDUCATION
1982
Master of Fine Arts, Printmaking, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
1978
Teaching Certificate, Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio
1977-78
Studied Life Drawing and Printmaking, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
1977
Bachelor of Arts, Art, Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1982-Present
Associate Professor of Art, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1991-1994
Chair, Art Department, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1980-1982
Teaching Associate, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
1981
Teacher, Continuing Education Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
1979-1980
Teacher, Parkersburg Central High School, Wood County Schools, Parkersburg, West Virginia
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2003
"Holiday Muse," Group Exhibition, LaFontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1999
Three-Person Exhibition, "Scene and Unseen," LaFontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1998
"Metamorphosis," LaFontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"Sabbatical Exhibition," Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"Jump Start Your Heart," Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1997
LaFontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1996
Faculty Exhibition, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1995
Two-Person Show, Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"9th Parkside National Small Print Exhibition," Kenosha, Wisconsin
"25th Annual Works on Paper," San Marcos, Texas
1994
"International Print Biennial," New Canaan, Connecticut
"67th Annual West Michigan Juried Competition," Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, Michigan
1994 Solo Show, Marywood Gallery, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1992
Faculty Exhibition, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"21st Annual Works on Paper," South West Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
"13th Annual Paper in Particular," Columbia College, Columbia, Missouri
"Kansas Seventeenth National Small Painting, Drawing and Print Exhibition," Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas
"65th Annual West Michigan Juried Competition," Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, Michigan
1991
Faculty Exhibition, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1990
Faculty Exhibition, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"Prints and Drawings: Sabbatical Exhibition," Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1998
Juror and Guest Lecturer, Newaygo County Public Schools Annual Art Exhibition, Newaygo, Michigan
Guest Lecturer, Mixed Bag Series, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1997
Visiting Artist, Calvin College Printmaking Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1996
Juror, South Haven Arts Council Annual Art Exhibit, South Haven, Michigan
1994
Juror, Calvin College Alumni Art Show, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1992
Guest Lecturer, Mixed Bag Series, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan
COLLECTIONS
Alma College, Alma, Michigan
Steelcase Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Dulin Gallery of Art, Knoxville, Tennessee
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts
University of Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire
University of Hartford, Hartford Art School, Hartford, Connecticut
Nova Scotia School of Art, Newfoundland, Canada
University of Maine, Orono, Maine
Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas
Private Collections in the United States and France
