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Stephen Ives artist/ Stephen Ives sculpture and drawing

My work is bricolage, it is about contrast and balance and the meaning within the juxtaposition, whether it is the bringing together of disparate contemporary ideas and materials or a synaesthetic sculptural emoticon, it is about appeasement, the conjunction of objects, themes, colours and overall placement.

On the surface level aesthetic and skill need to be balanced, the integrity of the structure fusing with overall feel creating strength, flow or beauty. The surface then has to be balanced with the content, the underlying conceptual structure supporting the roof of craftsmanship; this often takes the form of a humorous counterpoint, a poignant miniature scene or a moment of reflective beauty.

Belief has to be suspended to enter the worlds I create, (when the audience no longer see the puppets strings they will then believe the puppet is real), the audience can then be taken on the journey that I wish them to experience. 

”Stephen Ives has the ability to think out and shape scenarios which are rich on detail and in the midst of all the gruesomeness and absurdity have humorous and surprising traits too. Elements from popular culture are mixed with style and art history and sometimes you find peculiar changes in scale, which emphasise the smallness of mankind.”

 

Torben Weirup,

Politiken, Denmark

Stephen Ives was born in England in 1970 to an Australian mother and English father, he spent the first twelve years of his life living on the outskirts of the historic town of Lewes before moving to Australia when he was 12. Most of his childhood was spent in a large pile of Lego creating whatever he could imagine, if he wasn’t distracted with this he was running around on the South Downs having adventures, drawing, playing with dolls, Action men and puppets, pressing wild flowers, sword fighting, climbing trees, crashing billy carts, stealing fruit and making bad paper sculpture.

As a teenager in Australia he practiced drawing as well as making model tanks and planes.

He completed his High School Certificate with distinction but failed to get into any fine art courses.

 

He has had his work exhibited in London, Paris, Brussels, New York, Santa Fe and Copenhagen under the aegis of several galleries.

His work has been bought by collectors in Australia, England, America and Germany as well as some of the foremost art collectors in Denmark including Christian Stadil (Hummel Sport), Lars Christian Brask (EFG International) and the Danske Bank.

Solo Exhibitions (selected)

2022 Aug- Spiritus Mundi, Beinart Gallery, Melbourne

2017 July- The Resistible Rise of a Bear of Little Brain (redux), sculpture & drawing, Backwoods Gallery, Melbourne

2016 June- POSTCARD, drawings, online exhibiiton

2016 Feb- COURAGE, sculpture (jewellery), online exhibition

2015 Apr- Fragment, drawings, Backwoods Gallery, Melbourne

2015 Mar- BLEAK, sculpture, Backwoods Gallery, Melbourne

2013 May- HERO, sculpture and drawing, Backwoods Gallery, Melbourne

2012 Aug- JET, sculpture and drawing, Backwoods Gallery, Melbourne

2011 July- 36 Views of My Latte, drawings, No Vacancy, Federation Square, Melbourne

2011 Apr- TOY, sculpture, drawing & painting, No Vacancy, QV Building, Melbourne

2010 Sept- Recent Works, drawings, Marios, Melbourne

2009 Aug- The Resistible Rise of a Bear of Little Brain, sculpture, drawing & painting ADCO:VENUE, Copenhagen

2007 Sept- Mechanical Dreams, drawings & sculpture, Rumkammerat, Copenhagen

2005 April- The Return of Pooh, sculpture, Journal cafe, Melbourne

2005 April- Works on paper, Fitzroy Gallery, Melbourne

2003 March- Ridiculous Mouse, sculpture, Fish Space, Fitzroy, Melbourne

2000 Aug- The Last Sunday, drawings, The Hang Suite, Melbourne

2000 May- Plastic Baby OK, drawings & paintings, Zartowa Gallery, Melbourne

1999 May- Tits and Feathers and Blood and Stuff, drawings & paintings, Zartowa Gallery, Melbourne

1997 March- Collected Works, Zartowa Gallery, Melbourne.

 

Group Shows (selected)

2010 Oct- Selected for Brunswick Street Gallery group show, Melbourne

2010 Sept- Copenhagen Art Fair (ADCO:VENUE) Denmark

2010 Aug- Selected for Marie Ellis OAM prize for Drawing, Queensland

2009 Apr- Selected for Brunswick Street Gallery group show, Melbourne

2009 Nov- Art & Climate 09, Øksnehallen, Copenhagen

2009 Sept- Copenhagen Art Fair (ADCO:VENUE)

2009 Sept- 'Body' show, Øksnehallen, Copenhagen

2009 March- Group show with ADCO:VENUE, Copenhagen

2008 Dec- Villain, Vinyl Toy Show, No Vacancy, Melbourne

2008 July- Santa Fe Contemporary Art Fair, represented by Envie d’Art

2008 June- New York AAF, represented by Envie d’Art

2008 April- Art Brussels, represented by Envie d’Art

2007 Oct- London Affordable Art Fair, represented by Envie d’Art

2007 Sept- “A New Generation”, represented by Envie d’Art, London

2007 April- Sculpture exhibition with Dalip Kryeziu, Andersen Art. Denmark

2007 Feb- Copenhagen Kunstmesse (Art Fair), Denmark

2002 Dec- End of Year Show, Paintings, Gamma Space, Melbourne

2002 May- Woomera benefit exhibition, Mixed Media, Gamma Space, Melbourne

2000 March- Un-magazine, Best Street Folly, Melbourne.

1999 July- "Greatness Bound", Drawings , Le Coq, Melbourne.

1993 Oct- "Not the Archibald", Special prize winner with "Christ Elvis", Melbourne Fringe

1988 May- "Top Cats", Exhibition of Top HSC Art students

 

Commissions

2015 June- Painting, Silkeborg Gymnasium, Denmark

2009 Sept- Mural wall, Kørup Castle (Christian Stadil), Fyn, Denmark

2002 March- Mural wall, interior Earwax records, St.Kilda, Melbourne

2002 Jan- Three wall sculptures and screen, Slap Records, Fitzroy, Melbourne

2001 Aug- Life size puppets for Solution Red, Flemington, Melbourne

 

Collections

Danske Bank (Denmark)

Christian Stadil (Hummel Sport, Denmark)

L C Brask (EFG International, Denmark)

Christian Have Christian (Have Kommunication, Denmark)

Sonja Toft (Denmark)

Jesper Wung-Sung (Denmark)

Michael Ellis (ME Architecture, Melbourne)

Ian Blokkeerus (Melbourne)

Dr Anand Kumar (Melbourne)

Matt Kuperholz (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Melbourne)

 

Publications

2019 May- Feature, Weekend Australian Magazine

2015 Mar- BLEAK, Juxtapoz website

2014 Feb- Mr Dictator Head sculpture, featured Juxtapoz Magazine

2012 Nov- Mr Dictator Head sculpture, featured Juxtapoz website

2012 Jan- Mr Dictator Head sculpture, featured on Gizmodo and Designboom

2011 Nov- Article, Alice Brody, Stuff Happening Blog (www.stuffhappening.com.au)

2011 Apr- Desktop magazine (www.desktopmag.com.au)

2011 Apr- Dogmatic Blog (www.dogmaticblog.com)

2011 Apr- Interview with Invurt online magazine, (www.invurt.com)

2010 May- Co featured, Tour magazine, Denmark

2010 Apr- Co featured, Safari magazine, Japan

2009 Nov- Co featured, Stern magazine, Germany

2009 Aug- Article, Arbejderen Newspaper, Communist newspaper, Denmark

2009 Aug- Essay, Torben Weirup, Art editor Politiken Newspaper (The Age equivalent) Denmark

2008 Sept- Featured, Juxtapoz Reader art website

 

He is currently represented in Melbourne by Backwoods Gallery as well as exhibiting with Jon Beinart Gallery

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