Timothy Yarger Fine Art is pleased to present “Rodger Stevens: Postcards from the Limbic System” Brooklyn-born sculptor Rodger Stevens’ principle medium is wire. While his work appears abstract in nature, it is firmly rooted in narrative – drawing heavily upon literature, history, and personal experience. The objects he makes embody carefully wrought stories, and through their unique composition and form, Stevens delivers compelling narratives to the viewer. |
Stevens’ work, while formally beautiful and aesthetically unique speaks to the art historical tradition of classic “wire sculptors” who began establishing popularity around the art form in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. Artists such as Alexander Calder, the American sculptor regarded as the author of mobiles and kinetic art, and Ruth Asawa, champion of tied wire sculpture rooted in geometry and organic abstraction, are the two figures to whom Stevens’ work most directly relate. While the artist does not overtly position himself within this art historical canon the techniques and motivations behind the artist’s practice correspond with those that came before in a unique way. Stevens’ work contributes to the pre-existing history of “wire sculpture” by using form to articulate and highlight human relationships rather than nature or the built environment – emphasized by his predecessors. Rodger Stevens (born 1966, Brooklyn, NY) earned degrees in both Economics and Fine Art, and spent six formative years at the Sotheby’s auction house in New York. Stevens is now an internationally-exhibited artist whose work resides in numerous private collections. The artist has also collaborated with notable corporate clients: The New Yorker, Nike, Starbucks, Persol, and West Elm. Most recently, Stevens was awarded a coveted Artist Studio Residency at the Art & Design Museum in New York which begins this month.
AccoladesCommissions: The Whitney Museum of Art, The American Folk Art Museum, PS1, The Katonah Museum, The Bristol Museum, Tiffany & Co., Barney’s, PS 122, David Rockwell, Jonathan Adler, Todd Oldham, The Rockwell Group, The W Hotel, Mumm’s Champagne, Yohji Yamamoto, The New York Children’s Museum of Art, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Stuart Weitzman, Sotheby’s, MTV, Persol, The Hangaram Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea), Starbucks, The New Yorker Private Collections: Leonard Lauder, Tom Armstrong, David Rockwell, Todd Oldham, Jonathan Adler, Simon Doonan, Alton Brown, Alfred Taubman, David and Jane Walentas Publications: Art & Antiques, New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Decor, The New York Times, Surface, Wallpaper, Dwell, Elements of Living, New York Arts Magazine, City Magazine, D Home Magazine, Sandbox Magazine, Cargo Magazine, Blueprint |