THE SCULPTOR / THE STUDIO
James
Stephenson.
Working in stone in England’s Ribble Valley.
THE FACE / THE MATERIAL / THE ENCOUNTER
A familiar structure, reduced until it holds a different kind of attention.
James Stephenson is a British sculptor based in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire. Working primarily in limestone, his practice centres on the abstracted human face and the threshold between recognition and abstraction.
Originally trained in industrial design at Loughborough University, he approaches carving with a sensitivity to proportion, balance and the way an object occupies space.
His English–Italian heritage and the limestone landscapes of northern England inform his relationship with stone, material history and the physical presence of a work.
INSIDE THE PRACTICE
Revealed
by removal.
Carving is a process of reduction. As material is removed, the form gradually reveals itself. The work holds the human face at a point where it remains recognisable while leaving room for each viewer to complete it in their own mind.
Rough, fractured surfaces retain the character of the stone. Polished planes introduce another state within the same material. Openings allow light to pass through, shifting the experience as the viewer moves.
Alongside the current limestone works, James is interested in the character of other stones and in the relationship between presence and scale.
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