Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 4
Brian Keith StephensAfter You took a bath
About the Item
As we navigating our daily lives, we must face thoughts, anxieties, joys and emotions from all three of these tenses, and often at the same time.
Seemingly opposite emotions -- lust, hatred, desire, love, pride, inhibition -- exists simultaneously between these moments in time. For some of us, some emotions outweigh others, grabbing our attention and transfixing our minds, sometimes taking over the way we live and breathe. For myself, the emotions that occupy my mind and capture my energy are that of love, desire, and the fear of hurt or disappointment. And so, at the center of my work are these forceful emotions--they guide my hand to paint and my heart and mind to live. My work explores the emotions that guide us, that pull us and push is and ultimately define who we are, in relation to others and to ourselves.
Lately, what I have been most interested in capturing is how alternative perceptions of one’s identity can change the effect these daily emotions. My work speaks to this in two mediums: oil paintings and collage/installation. With the first medium, I do this primarily through mystical imagery juxtaposed with figurative technique. I am using oil paints to create this mystical alter-reality where the human is the animal and the animal is the human.
Growing up in Connecticut, I have always found animals as a vessel for depicting human emotion; I believe in many ways animals are capable of expressing human emotions is a way that is both understandable and mysterious and alluring. Like animals, we are all wild and fearful, but unlike animals, we have to live in this world of rules and normativity. My desires, my emotions, are not always able to fit in the place and society I live, but in my art, I can find a place for those outliers to join forces.
I am captivated by the power of my own emotions, the playful desires and the sometimes dangerous energy that is the essence of the human spirit. We love, we hurt, we laugh and we cry -- it’s this fantastic and sometimes frightful spectrum. The ‘contemporary soldier’, a motif represented in my work through oil on canvas, is my own conception of this power we have to love and to hurt, to build and to break. For me the contemporary soldier is child freed from the gaze of the parent or society, it is the spirit, freed. But also faced with the challenge of the future, even as it moves freely from its past.
- Creator:Brian Keith Stephens (1973, American)
- Dimensions:Height: 59 in (149.86 cm)Width: 59 in (149.86 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Boston, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2629215363752
Brian Keith Stephens
“I have always been intrigued by how humans used animals as vessels for their stories throughout literature and art, how simple animal qualities help depict human emotions in ways that are understandable, mysterious, and alluring. At the center of my work and life are these fascinations with myth, the spectrum of human passion, our kinship to the spirit of the wild animal, and the challenges of balancing the real with the fanciful. My art has been and continues to be my outlet for exploring these themes and conjuring new ones.” – Brian Keith Stephens
About the Seller
No Reviews Yet
Vetted Professional Seller
Every seller passes strict standards for authenticity and reliability
Established in 2016
1stDibs seller since 2023
10 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Boston, MA
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllPhone your mother
By Brian Keith Stephens
Located in Boston, MA
As we navigating our daily lives, we must face thoughts, anxieties, joys and emotions from all three of these tenses, and often at the same time.
Seemingly opposite emotions -- lust...
Category
2010s Landscape Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Wax, Oil
Variation sur une champ de colza
By Benoit Trimborn
Located in Boston, MA
French artist Trimborn is renowned for his large-scale, stunning landscapes in oil on canvas. Trimborn, trained as an architect, categorizes his work as “contemporary impressionism”...
Category
2010s Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
vaches en ete
By Benoit Trimborn
Located in Boston, MA
French artist Trimborn is renowned for his large-scale, stunning landscapes in oil on canvas. Trimborn, trained as an architect, categorizes his work as “contemporary impressionism”...
Category
2010s Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
reflet dans le jaune
By Benoit Trimborn
Located in Boston, MA
French artist Trimborn is renowned for his large-scale, stunning landscapes in oil on canvas. Trimborn, trained as an architect, categorizes his work as “contemporary impressionism”...
Category
2010s Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
variations sur une foret
By Benoit Trimborn
Located in Boston, MA
French artist Trimborn is renowned for his large-scale, stunning landscapes in oil on canvas. Trimborn, trained as an architect, categorizes his work as “contemporary impressionism”...
Category
2010s Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
Mon chère voisin !
Located in Boston, MA
Thomas Bossard was born in 1971 in Poitiers, France, to a large and creative family. His mother fostered his interest in art since an early age, bringing Thomas to various museums wh...
Category
2010s Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
You May Also Like
#4423
By Hiro Yokose
Located in Phoenix, AZ
oil and wax on canvas
62 x 50 inches framed
Neo-romantic painter Hiro Yokose fuses multiple layers of wax and oil paint to create mysterious, veiled landscapes illuminated with fl...
Category
Early 2000s Romantic Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Wax, Oil
$27,000
452 - Framed Square Contemporary Minimalist Blue Ocean Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This original artwork by Jeremy Prim is a minimalist oil painting that exudes tranquility and captures the essence of the Pacific coastline. The painting f...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Minimalist Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Mixed Media, Wax, Oil
Bliss
By Alison Haley Paul
Located in Napa, CA
Oil, charcoal, wax, pigment, and graphite on canvas.
Alison Haley Paul is a contemporary painter of lavishly textured landscapes full of nuanced color. Her work conjures up connotat...
Category
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal, Wax, Oil, Graphite, Pigment
$11,500
Exhilaration
By Alison Haley Paul
Located in Napa, CA
Oil, charcoal, wax, pigment, and graphite on canvas.
Alison Haley Paul is a contemporary painter of lavishly textured landscapes full of nuanced color. Her work conjures up connotat...
Category
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal, Wax, Oil, Graphite, Pigment
Glimpse #92
By Alison Haley Paul
Located in Napa, CA
Alison Haley Paul is a contemporary painter of lavishly textured landscapes full of nuanced color. Her work conjures up connotations and geographical memories: that summer you spent ...
Category
2010s Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal, Wax, Oil, Graphite, Pigment
Midday
By Alison Haley Paul
Located in Napa, CA
Alison Haley Paul is a contemporary painter of lavishly textured landscapes full of nuanced color. Her work conjures up connotations and geographical memories: that summer you spent ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal, Wax, Oil, Graphite, Pigment
$7,750