Adam Stephens

Adam Stephens studied sculpture at Brighton Polytechnic in the late 1980’s where he was taught by Phyllida Barlow, Alison Wilding and Peter Randall-Page. He completed post-graduate training in Art Education at Goldsmiths College London in 1990. He is currently Head of the Creative Arts Faculty at Elizabeth College and director at Gate House Gallery.

Artist Statement

My art practice is focused on sculpture, but I also make related work in drawing, painting and mixed media. Collage/assemblage is central to my creative process. Found objects retain a memory of past life that can create ‘poetic resonance’, triggering associations both within and beyond the work. I am fascinated by the potential for everyday materials to evoke feelings of transcendence or otherworldliness.

I deliberately introduce elements of chance into the making process. By giving up a degree of control, the work begins to take on a life of its own and to exist more fully in the world. I navigate my way forward more by intuition than intellect and remain open to new possibilities as they become apparent. 

I am interested in the way that we live together and how we occupy the surface of the earth; what we build and the traces that we leave; the consequences of globalisation and what the geopolitical landscape might look like from some point in the future. 

I try to make objects that can stand for themselves and that encourage speculation.