Stephanie Angelo
Molly Pitcher, Acrylic on canvas
I remember taking art class in 4th grade and completing my first painting, which was a copy of Franz Marc’s “Grazing Horses IV”. I was so excited to finally see it in person at the Harvard Art Museum a couple of years ago. It brought back so many memories!
I have always wanted to be an artist. My mother was a painter and very artistic, so it was definitely something I grew up with. I decided to put in full effort after visiting my brother in NYC and I mentioned I was trying to be an artist and his friend said “You either are an artist or you aren’t.” And that’s when it hit me. I’m not trying to be one, I am so I might as well work like I am.
I’m basically self-taught. I went to college for Art History and took the couple of classes offered (one drawing and one painting), but the studio department was lacking. I came to Boston to go to the Museum School for a year and get more exposure to different media that I would not have access to on my own like print making etc, but overall I am self-taught as far as painting goes.
The first show I got into at CAA was the 2013 National Prize Show. A few years later I joined as a member.
I find Boston to have a vibrant artist community. I have been active in local arts since I moved to Boston in 2003. I have taken part in various open studios, from the South End, to Brookline to Fenway Studios. For years I exhibited with Galatea Fine Arts in the SoWa district as well as various galleries, art associations and community colleges in the area.
I’ve also taken part in art auctions such as Artcetera and the Theresa India Young Exhibit at USES.
Kathryn Switcher, Acrylic on canvas
The artist is one of the most important yet undervalued persons in society. On a basic level people and businesses both big and small rely on artists for marketing, design and aesthetic contributions to products and branding of their companies.
On a greater level, the artist is the observer of society. They take in everything from simple beauty to the most complex and divisive social issues and refract them back to the viewer through their work. Giving this perspective in a universal way allows people to connect with the art and find resonance with it in their lives.
I have dabbled in various media from screen printing, to lithography, etching, drawing and collage, but I keep coming back to painting.
My work deals with what is current while also referencing similar historical events and themes. I find that painting itself is a way to connect to that historical feel–to use an older art form and medium to convey a modern message.
My creative process comes in bursts. I spend a few months taking everything in, from the news, to art, to movies and books. From there I formulate a theme or topic I would like to work on and do some research about it. I then plan out my paintings down to the detail of subject, size, scale and color. The last step would be execution and just trying to work to get it all done as I see it in my head.
I find ideas for my work all around me. Usually as I am working on one series another theme or topic starts to catch my attention and that would become the subject of the next series. It kind of ruminates as I work on a current painting.
I like juxtaposing the current with history. My subject matter tends to be something in the now. I try to immerse myself in the zeitgeist – fully absorb what is going on and from there I can extrapolate and see connections to our history and art history.
I’d say whatever I am currently working on is my favorite. I try to get better and better with each series. So hopefully I can look at what I am working on and feel confident that this is my best work. But sure enough as time passes and I begin to work on the next series I get sick of the previous one and become all about my current work.
Misty Copeland, Acrylic on canvas
Create! Create! Create! Finding time with two children and a job is always challenging, but a goal of mine is to constantly be creating and making art. I just want to keep at it and continue to get my work out there.
I love seeing art in all its forms. From traditional museums and galleries to walking through the city and encountering public art as well as going to the theater to take in a play or movie. Each venue and medium is inspiring and can trigger a new idea in my work.
Joseph Kosuth. “One and Three Chairs” is top notch in my book. It just opens a world of questions of what is real? What is a representation? Is one true and one not? I love those kind of questions for my own work.
I also love Beatriz Milhazes. Her patterning and colors are just everything!
When I was studying abroad in Amsterdam I tried to travel as much as I could. I went to Berlin and on a tip from a friend was told to check out Tacheles. It’s a sculpting studio. There I bought my first piece of art- it was a small sculpture of a person made out of metal and the head was preserved fruit. I totally love it even if some people think it’s weird when they see it in my apartment. I also have several paintings from friends in the Boston art world.
I currently am part of a traveling exhibit called “Reimagining the Four Freedoms” with the Norman Rockwell Museum. I was one of 34 artists chosen to reinterpret Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” illustrations. The exhibit juxtaposes his classic illustrations along with these modern interpretations.
It will go to several cities through 2020, Roosevelt House in New York City; the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI; The George Washington University Museum in Washington, DC; Mémorial de Caen in Normandy, France; Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX, and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.
SEE MORE STEPHANIE!
Website: www.scangelo.com
Instagram: @popartangel
Facebook: Stephanie Angelo @popartangel