Stephan Fowlkes with Juliette Pelletier, Founder of Reflect-arts, Inc. and curator of the

'Divine Influence' exhibition, at the Wilmer Jennings Gallery, NYC, 2010

Brooklyn-based painter, sculptor and arts writer Stephan Fowlkes gives new meaning to "going against the grain".  In woodwork, his primary medium, Fowlkes crafts colorful, mesmerizing forms from wood and found objects - often reclaimed from dumpsters and other unlikely sources.  His spirited, energetic techniques transform the discarded into provocative pieces with both real and imagined past lives.  Using the universal language of geometry, he aims to translate and break down his personal experiences, observations and interactions into an aesthetic vocabulary -- forms which can be understood, interpreted and internalized by all.  The recipient of many distinguished awards and fellowships, Stephan's amazing artwork has been enjoyed at a multitude of solo and group shows.  

Planks: Jump Series #1.  2000, 80" x80".

Pine, wood stain, shellac, antique hardware

RA:  Describe your artistic process ...

SF:  In most of my work these days, my process and product is primarily inspired by what I find in dumpsters in my neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where so many of the old buildings are being torn down--sad, but offering a wealth of raw material.  Using materials that have had a previous life, alluding to these past lives, or using that as a starting point--these aspects are what drive my inspiration and motivation in my work.  Sometimes the reclaimed objects retain a degree of their prior manifestation or purpose (a chair may remain a chair) whilst other times the objects are deconstructed and repurposed and lose all prior identity.  It is the beauty of the diversity and chance of what I find that that drives my inspiration.  It is also the process of working with wood that I find so appealing, and these days both process and material are perfectly suited to my current investigations, both intellectually and aesthetically.  Wood is good!

RA:  Tell us about the African-Inspired Comedy and Tragedy masks.    

SF:   I wanted to make something directly pertinent and relevant, while still keeping to my own aesthetic and procedural practices.  The police barriers just happened to come along at the right time. I created these for an upcoming auction event at Sotheby's in November to  

benefit Art For Africa.  

Comedy and Tragedy, Second Manifestation, 2010

Cube Squared, 2011, Dumpster-reclaimed wood

 Cube #5, 2008, 20"x19"x19",  Dumpster-reclaimed wood

RA:  How has your practice changed over time?

SF:  Curiosity and creativity cannot be limited to any one particular material or process. Over the past two decades I have explored ceramics, stone carving, painting, photography and printmaking, sculpture, installation, earth works, performance, creative writing, learning both the strengths and weaknesses of each medium's vocabularies.  I am ever evolving in my ideas, investigations, aesthetic language, intentions, with product often secondary to the process.  

RA:  What artists do you admire?  

SF:  Historically, my great heroes have been Picasso, Duchamp, Rauschenberg, but to that list can easily be added.  Martin Puryear and Louise Nevelson for their impeccable use of wood.  And more recently, Tim Hawkinson, Tara Donovan and Vik Muniz, largely for their amazing and diverse use of materials and their unhindered curiosity and apparent sense of wonder in both process and product.

Towers in "New Urban Artifacts" at Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, 2008

RA: What do you most enjoy doing?  

SF:  Making the world more visually stimulating and thought-provoking ...one piece at a time.

RA:  What do you like most about your work?  Least?  

SF:  The infinite potential before me -- and the lack of time to realize it.

 

         Narcissus, 2010, 45" x 48" x 20",                             Studio view of Triangle, Circle, Wedge. 2010.

Dumpster-reclaimed wood, found mirror                                    Dumpster-reclaimed wood       

 

RA:  Can you share a real-life situation or experience that has inspired or informed your art?

SF:  I taught woodworking to elementary school students ages 5-9 at the Village Community School in NYC in 1999, and watching these kids have such a formative experience of actually building objects, and their pride with their finished projects led me to want to work with wood, and for the last 12 years I have.

Stephan in front of Planks: Jump Series #1 featured in the 'Divine Influence' exhibition,

at The Wilmer Jennings Gallery, NYC 2010

 

RA:  What is the best piece of advice you've been given?

SF:   Follow your heart.

  

 

RA:  What advice would you offer to other artists? 

SF:   Follow your heart.

 

  for more of Stephan's masterful creations

For more info, check out stephanfowlkes.com  

or contact him at stephanart@yahoo.com