Liam Stevens

About

Somerset, 1985

London-based artist Liam Stevens works in layered pigment washes with pencil on canvas, and constructed reliefs. His creations are composed of repeated lines and forms, creating a sense of rhythm in the negative space. “I am often working with elements that have no compositional hierarchy, as the component parts are all the same size,” he says. “I look for sets of rules, of repeated groupings or clusters, to suggest a rhythm that the viewer is subconsciously aware of, but also not aware of. There is something safe and familiar about repetition; we use it to make sense of the world around us, and our response to it can evoke deep contemplation.”
Familiar urban and natural landscapes inform much of Stevens’s practice. “There is a dichotomy to growing up in the countryside in Somerset and now living in Zone 1 in London,” he says. “I am deeply connected to the memory of being surrounded by nature, all the while experiencing the energy, culture, chaos and connectedness of a busy city. I live on the seventh floor, and can see 30 or more skyscrapers on the horizon from my apartment. I find the effect of this setting similar to that of a rural landscape, which also consists of repeated structures and forms. My work is a distinctly personal melding of these two environments. The need to balance them forces me to withdraw into my own space to process what’s going on around me.”
Stevens’s paintings and reliefs have been exhibited at Fotokino in Marseille, One Four in Seoul, and a touring show with the publisher Booklet in Tokyo. A tranquil quality emerges from his creative process. “Each canvas is stained with pigment washes up to
30 times,” he says. “I focus on certain areas, and work more quickly over others, to create different inflections on the surface. I find this methodical application very calming, and hope that the final piece exhibits a kind of perfect imperfection.”

CV

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SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
We Breathe the Same Sky, solo exhibition, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2022)
On & Off, solo showcase, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2021)
Resonant Line, solo exhibition, Francis Gallery, Bath, UK (2020)
From Form, solo exhibition, Gallery One Four, Seoul, South Korea (2019)
Intervalles, solo exhibition, Fotokino, Marseille, France (2018)
Freeze for Frieze, Royal College of Art, London (2016)
The Ride Journal, Jaguar Shoes, London (2015)
Badcocks Group Show, Badcocks Gallery, St Ives (2015)
Colour Form Play, joint exhibition, Maybe a Vole, London (2014)
Show Something, E17, London (2014)
Ciclostilo, Fixedrome, Rome, Italy (2012)
Kugatsu, Utility, Tokyo, Japan (2011)
Megane Zine Shop, Lumine, Tokyo, Japan (2011)
ATTN: LIBRARY, Kosmos Lane Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2011)
Field Work, Number Three, London (2011)
EOY, Air Gallery, London (2007)

ART FAIRS
SWAB Barcelona Art Fair, joint exhibition, Gallery One Four, Barcelona, Spain (2020)

ARTWORKS IN COLLECTIONS
Kanazawa Museum of Modern Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Private collection, Tervuren, Belgium
Private collection, Seoul, South Korea
Private collection, Los Angeles, USA
Private collection, London, UK
Private collection, Hilversum, Netherlands
Private collection, Saint-Malo, France
Private collection, Sydney, Australia

SELECTED CLIENTS & COMMISSIONS
Hermès
New Statesman
The Guardian
Wired UK
Claridge’s London
Ikea
Anya Hindmarch
Lovers Agency
The Ride Journal
California Sunday Magazine
The World of Interiors
Eye Spy Gallery
Winkreative
Studio Tack
CF Napa
Manuel Creative, San Francisco
B&B Italia
Mutina
SCRT Clothing
Booklet Tokyo
Murdoch Books
The Rug Company
Little Otsu

PUBLICATIONS
モノクロ絵の世界 A Journey Through Monochrome Illustrations, BNN (2015)
Walk The Line: The Art of Drawing, Laurence King (2014)
Tiny Pencil: Volume 1: The Forest Issue (2013)
Freehand – Chronicle Books (2013)
Little Book of Lettering, Chronicle Books (2012)
Oh Comely (Issue Nine) (2012)
Papercraft 2, Gestalten (2011)