Stephen Albair
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| Stephen Albair | |
|---|---|
| File:Stephen Albair & "Precarious Interlude".jpgStephen Albair & "Precarious Interlude".jpg Self-portrait in front of his image titled "Precarious Interlude". | |
| Born | Stephen Albair June 30, 1942 Haverhill, Massachusetts |
| 🏳️ Nationality | French/Italian |
| 🏫 Education | BS, MS and MFA (Illinois) State University (Illinois) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Tableaux photography, small sculptural jewelry, and photo transfers on linen. |
| 🌐 Website | stephenalbair |
| Twitter= | |
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Stephen Albair (born June 30, 1942) is an artist living in San Francisco who specializes in tableau photography, metal work and narrative jewelry.[1] Born in Haverhill, Mass and raised in Atkinson, New Hampshire, he was part of the thriving arts scene of the 1970s and 1980s in Chicago and New York City, where he became part of a community of artists that included Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, before moving to San Francisco in 1989. His metal work was exhibited at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian in 1974, 1981 and 1984, and the American Crafts Museum, NYC in 1983, 1984 and 1986.[2]
Among Albair’s chief influences are Ken Botto, Ray Johnson and Man Ray, whose work both as a jewelry designer and a photographer served as model for his own inclinations, as well as the Chicago Imagists. In the 90s his work was shown in Seattle, Denver, New York and London. In 2008 he mounted his show, Stranger in a Dream at the Kathmandu Photo Gallery in Bangkok Thailand.[3] His continued interest in “blurring the reality between what’s real and what’s realistic,” resulted in four books beginning with Hidden Gardens Private Views published in 2010,[4][5] which then led to another show in Bangkok, Beneath the Veneer in 2011.[6] His most recent book SPECTACLES, A Memoir of Jewelry and Photography was featured in an exhibition in 2022, at the Griffin Museum of Photography[7] in Winchester, Massachusetts.
Early life and education[edit]
After receiving his undergraduate and post graduate degrees from Illinois State University,[2] Albair began teaching and received his first recognition in Chicago, when he was awarded 2nd prize by the Art Institute of Chicago in their 1973 Chicago and Vicinity Artists Exhibition. In 1979 Tiffany & Co, Chicago displayed two of his sculptural works in their windows.[citation needed]
Albair’s early life was tumultuous, as soon after their birth he and his twin sister Jeanne (Gariepy), were moved to a foster home in Atkinson, New Hampshire, followed by stays in numerous other homes, as well as a year together in an orphanage from ages 7–8. After living with the Albair family for 2 years in Atkinson, New Hampshire blocks away from his sister, Albair chose adoption at age 14. Despite not living together as teenagers, he and his sister Jeanne attended Haverhill High School together for three years. In his senior year he quit high school to enter the United States Air Force. While in the military, he gained a GED certificate attending the University of Illinois, before being discharged from the Air Force in 1965. It wasn’t until his mid-twenties at Illinois State University that he began to study and experiment with art.[citation needed] These early experiences, his close relationship with his sister, and his time spent teaching, account for much of the imagery he has produced. Though no specific autobiographical images have entered his work, these experiences set the stage for the themes of love, loss and longing that pervade much of his output.[citation needed]
Career[edit]
Beginning as a goldsmith, Albair’s interest in narrative is ongoing and palpable. Starting with so-called narrative jewelry in the 1970s—based on the centuries-old idea of using jewelry to tell a story—his initial works combined disparate materials and objects in order to produce pieces of what the Chicago Daily News said transmitted “both humor and whimsy, and which could be worn as jewelry or seen as art objects in and of themselves.”[8]
Albair became interested in tableau photography via his close friendship and working relationship with Ken Botto, often described as an eccentric who created staged tableaux of toys and found objects, set in a political or psychological context in order to photograph them. Prior to moving to San Francisco in 1990, Albair enjoyed academic or lecture positions with a number of institutions, beginning with Western Illinois University and including The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Parsons School of Design New York City, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Columbia University, Montana State University, East Tennessee State University, Louisiana State University and Texas A & M. In addition he showed work at a number of galleries, including the Museum of Arts and Design[9] in New York, the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery, and the La Mama Galleria[10] New York.[1]
Once ensconced in San Francisco his pursuit of tableau photography took up the majority of his artistic energy. Over the next thirty years he showed at a number of galleries in the Bay Area and began to teach at Las Positas College in Livermore California.[11] In 2007 his work caught the eye of San Francisco’s 7x7 magazine. In the article entitled Idol Worship[12] written by Melissa Goldstein, Albair compared his work to sculpture, because of his great emphasis on “stage direction” in the setting up of his tableaux. In the article he says “one of the things I try to build into all these pieces is a sense of longing for something that is not there.”[citation needed]
In 2008 he mounted his show, Stranger in a Dream at the Kathmandu Photo Gallery in Bangkok Thailand.[13] His continued interest in “blurring the reality between what’s real and what’s realistic,” produced a collection of pieces featured in his book, Hidden Gardens Private Views published in 2010,[14] and resulted in another show in Bangkok, Beneath the Veneer[15] at the Thavibu Gallery in 2011.[citation needed]
Selected Exhibitions[edit]
2022 Griffin Museum of Photography,[16] Winchester, Massachusetts; Gray Loft Gallery Oakland CA
2020 All About Photo.com[17] AAP Magazine Merit Award
2019 Center for Photographic Art Carmel CA; Center for Fine Art Photography Fort Collins CO
2018 Smith Anderson Gallery San Anselmo CA
2016 ZYZZYVA National Literary Journal San Francisco CA; Artist Residency Kathmandu Photo Gallery Bangkok Thailand
2012 The Perfect Exposure Gallery Los Angeles CA; Thavibu Gallery Beneath the Veneer - Bangkok Thailand
2015 The Dryansky Gallery San Francisco CA; RMA Institute Gallery Bangkok Thailand
2010 Bolinas Museum Bolinas CA; Rayko Photo Gallery San Francisco CA
2010 Kathmandu Photo Gallery Bangkok Thailand; Installation: Hidden Gardens - Private Views
2009 RayKo Photo Center San Francisco CA; Pro Arts Gallery Oakland CA
2008 PhotoArt Asia Expo 2008 Bangkok Thailand; San Luis Obispo, CA Art Center
2007 Kathmandu Photo Gallery Bangkok Thailand; RayKo Photo Center San Francisco CA
2005 Pro Arts Gallery Oakland CA; Montclair Gallery Oakland CA; RayKo Photo Center San Francisco CA
2004 Los Medanos College Pittsburg CA
2003 University of California Chico CA; Café Comptoir San Francisco CA
2001 Noe Valley Art Space San Francisco CA; The Lift Gallery San Francisco CA
1999 Summerhill Gallery Chapel Hill NC
1995 US Information Agency Washington DC; International Traveling Exhibitions
1994 Metropolis Contemporary Art Gallery Seattle WA; Museum of Contemporary Crafts San Francisco CA
1993 Crawford and Sloan Gallery NYC; Hassel/Haeseller Gallery Denver CO
1992 International Sculptural Center Washington DC; Masten Gallery Denver CO
1991 La Mama Galleria NYC; Photographer's Gallery London UK
1990 Bridgewater/Lustberg Gallery NYC; P.S. #1 Long Island City NY; Alcove Gallery Henry Street Theatre NYC
1989 Blum Helman Warehouse NYC; Asian American Art Center New York NY; East Carolina University Greenville NC; Metropolis Gallery Dallas TX
1988 Z-Zai Project Tokyo Japan; Metropolis Gallery Dallas TX; Locus Gallery St. Louis MO 1987; Elektika Gallery Miami FL
1986 Alternate Galley Dallas TX; Mobilia Gallery Cambridge MA; American Crafts Museum New York NY [ALSO 1983. 1984]
1985 Smithsonian Institution: Renwick Gallery Washington D.C.; Texas A & M University, College Station, TX; Gallery One, Ft. Worth, TX; Jane Baum Gallery, NYC; Nimbus Gallery, Dallas, TX; City Without Walls Center, Newark, NJ; Village Gate Art Center, Rochester, NY; American Crafts Museum, NYC
1984 New York University, NYC; East Texas State University, Commerce, TX; Pinnacle Gallery, Rochester, NY
1983 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA; Marianne Deson Gallery, Chicago, IL; Quadrum Gallery, Boston, MA; American Crafts Museum, NYC
1982 Rizzoli Gallery, Chicago, IL; DeVille Gallery, New Orleans, LA; Heller Gallery, NYC; Zoma Gallery, NYC
1981 Gallery One, Ft. Worth, TX; Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX; Art Expo '81, NYC; Zoma Gallery, NYC
1980 Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, Halifax, NS, Canada; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
1979 Tiffany & Co., Chicago, IL; Dobrick Gallery, Chicago, IL; Slocumb Gallery, (ETSU), Johnson City, TN; Synopsis Gallery, Winnetka, IL; Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI; Americans In Glass, Wausau, WI; University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Magazine, Fine Art (2015-07-22). "Fine Art Magazine Blog: Stephen Albair: Private Views, Hidden Reflections September 17, 2015 – October 29, 2015". Fine Art Magazine Blog. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Entity:Stephen Albair". www.ckcest.zju.edu.cn. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ "2007 Exhibitions : December". www.rama9art.org. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ "7th Annual Photobook Exhibition: Davis Orton Gallery, Griffin Museum of Photography, Online Catalog" (PDF). Davis Orton Gallery.
- ↑ "Stephen Albair's 'Private Views'". SFChronicle.com. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ "Bangkok art: New year, new art spaces | CNN Travel". travel.cnn.com. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ https://griffinmuseum.org/
- ↑ Shelton, Patricia (10 October 1977). "Would You Wear a Trinket as a TV?" (PDF). Chicago Daily News. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ https://madmuseum.org/
- ↑ https://www.lamama.orgin
- ↑ "Stephen Albair: Private Views, Hidden Reflections September 17, 2015 – October 29, 2015 – Art Of The Times". Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ Goldstein, Melissa (October 2007). "Idol Worship" (PDF). 7x7 Magazine: 72. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ Russell, Camilla (3 Jan 2008). "Stephen Albair - a stranger in a dream" (PDF). Bangkok Post. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ "Hidden Gardens - Private Views". Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ Musikett, Yanapon (14 Dec 2011). "What lies beneath" (PDF). Bangkok Post. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ "Stephen Albair | Silent Scenes".
- ↑ "Stephen Albair: Silent Scenes".
External links[edit]
Media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]] at Wikimedia Commons
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