News

Kosuke Kawahara's studio show (my first curatorial project) opens this week at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts

Kosuke has been a good friend of mine for almost a decade. I’ve seen his work progress significantly over the years, during which he established himself in New York, become fully fluent in English, completed an MFA at Pratt Institute, obtained an artist visa, and participated in and organized dozens of exhibitions—all while sacrificing any number of comforts in order to make ends meet. Now a new member of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts’s Studio Program, Kosuke is participating in the organization’s annual open studios weekend, which begins Thursday, October 21.

Kosuke asked me to curate this small exhibition, which we installed in his third-floor studio space, that aims to give visitors a clear sense of his artistic practice. Although we have, on more than one occasion leading up to this show, had deliberate discussions regarding work selection, placement, and installation, as well as writing and overall message, the decisions regarding what to include in Kosuke’s studio show seem actually to be years in the making. Kosuke’s work is the most focused his trajectory has ever been and I wanted this small show to reflect that.

I was delighted curate sculpture, video, and several kinds of painting from Kosuke’s production from the last few years into this exhibition. “Growing in the Dark” is a dive into the strange and often uncomfortable realms of corporeal existence, which has been a consistent theme in Kosuke’s work.

To visit: register here.

Contribution to "Virginia Quarterly Review" Fall 2021 issue, out now

I’m very pleased that a some of my work from 2019 and 2020 has been published in the Fall 2021 issue of Virginia Quarterly Review, accompanying Emily Maloney’s essay “Something for the Pain: Where is the opioid crisis headed?” I think it’s a perfect editorial pairing: one of the tracks of my work has been to highlight the strangeness and complexity of the act of portrayal, while the article examines dependency’s contemporary nuances and medical realpolitik; there’s something in the tone of the images and the article that overlaps in the form of a feeling, and which makes sense. I hope VQR’s readers will enjoy.

"Weave. Knit. Stitch." group exhibition at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery, Asheville

This summer my work is included in yet another solid show of gallery artists at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery. Curated by Candace Reilly, the exhibition highlights the mingling of craft and fine art by way of the titler techniques.

Artists and works included:
Eleanor Anderson, Jen Blazina, Clay Burnette, Casey Engel, Vicki Essig, Luke Haynes, Carole Hetzel, Patti Quinn Hill, Connie Lippert, Carol Milne, Amy Putansu, David Samuel Stern

Through August 27, 2021

21-JULY-Laurel-Ad_FINAL.jpg

"Piecing It All Together" group exhibition at Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia

PIAT_PC (2).jpg
PIAT_PC (2).jpg

I’m very pleased that Natasha Guy has curated two of my Woven Portraits into this group exhibition at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia, which runs June 25 to July 17. Even before I was asked to be a part of this show, I had known of and admired the work of several of the other artists included. Natasha has organized the show on the premise that collage is tied to finding clarity, specifically the kind of clarity that comes from the examination of the past.

Yannick Lowery, Michele Landel, Keun Young Park, Jay Riggio, Hollie Chastain, Gavin Benjamin, Micaela Latanzio, Clare Celeste Börsch, Michael Mapes, Dominik Hollaus, David Samuel Stern

There will be a virtual opening June 25 at 5:30 pm for collectors; the gallery will be open to visitors beginning June 26.

Behind the scenes at my Woven Portraits shoot, April 2021

The initial steps in the process of executing a batch of Woven Portraits is conceptualizing, casting, and planning the shoot. The shoot itself, naturally, is when I gather the images that will ultimately be printed large format, cut, and woven by hand into the final artworks. It is a necessary concentration of much of the initial energy of a Woven Portraits batch. And the success of every shoot I do ultimately comes down to this planning and the talents of my on-set crew.

Here's a peek at my most recent Woven Portraits shoot, earlier this month in Chelsea, Manhattan.

Raw video footage by David Gonsier.

Music by Christian Björklund, Hallon (shortened from the original) Licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0

"FRAGMENTS: Artists Exploring Photo-Materiality" exhibition at Marshall Contemporary, Venice Beach

DSStern_Graphic copy.jpeg
Screen Shot 2021-04-06 at 1.03.33 AM.png

I am profoundly delighted to have several pieces included in this exhibition at the utterly fantastic Marshall Contemporary gallery in Venice, California. Owner and curator Douglas Marshall has assembled this exhibition to address one of main foci of the gallery itself: contemporary photograph’s venture back into the physical nature of photo materials, processes, and experiences.

As Marshall himself puts it: “The exhibition FRAGMENTS brings together the work of five multi-disciplinary artists who engage their photographs through various physical craft techniques, whether by the blade, needle or through more mechanized means.” For each artist included in the exhibition, “making a photograph is just the first step of their process that precedes a subsequent, sculptural element required to bring the work to a more nuanced and complete tactile format.”

To me this gallery feels like home, and I could not be happier that Marshall Contemporary will display my work alongside that of Theresa Ganz, Diane Meyer, Georgina Reskala, and Krista Svalbonas.

Virtual artist talks will be held at TBD dates and times. For more information and to download the press release, go here.

Group exhibition at Saint Marks Place Showroom, Brooklyn, via Arts Gowanus

Photo by Katherine Marks

Photo by Katherine Marks

My 2018 piece, Theo, is included in a group exhibition at a new residential development, Saint Marks Place, in a Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, showcasing the work of several artists associated with arts-advocacy group Arts Gowanus. The exhibition, curated by Arts Gowanus director Johnny Thornton and associate curator Clémence Mailly, takes place in the new property developed by Avdoo & Partners Development and designed by INC Architecture & Design. Time and date for the garden reception will be announced soon.

Artists included in this exhibition: Natale Adgnot, Susana Aldanondo, AiCampbell, Liza Domingues, Hannah Robinett, Sonjie Feliciano Solomon, David Samuel Stern, Michael Watson, and Amy Weil.

More information about the space, the exhibition, Saint Marks Place, and the mission of Arts Gowanus, as well as images of the artworks included, can be found here and on Arts Gowanus’s Artsy page.

The 2020 Winter Solstice Pinhole Photographs are ready, and here's a video short featuring four of them

2020 was the fourth year of my Winter Solstice Pinhole Photographs series. At this point, I feel comfortable saying this will be a lifelong series for me. When possible, I’ll travel as far north as I’m able on the Winter Solstice, and, when possible, I’ll document as much of the process as I’m able.

I’m pleased that I was able to gather more successful photos than I’d originally expected, given that, in 2020, I was working with the convenience of neither an artist residency nor an on-site darkroom. I’ve added them to this site and will begin posting them and other small videos on Instagram this week.

The documentation aspect has become increasingly important to me over the years. Although I wasn’t able to travel as far as I would have liked in 2020 due to the pandemic, I’ve put together a little video (above) featuring footage of the pinhole exposures in progress on location. Please feel welcome tom share it.

Original music by Earsmack, track: "slow motion", © 2011. Used and mixed with permission under CC license CC BY-SA 3.0. Radio sound effects by ERH & GrowlerMusic. Used and mixed with permission. CC0 1.0

The 2020 Winter Solstice Pinhole Photographs, Lake Champlain

As with every year, I acknowledged the 2020 Winter Solstice by executing a batch of pinhole photographs.

Light is the fundamental property of photography, so to me it feels right to make photographs in this most raw way—no lens, no film, no electronics—on the day when we have the least of it. Additionally, these photos are direct, unreplicatable exposures on rare, vintage photo paper—materials that have been waiting for ages in the dark.

With the low, fleeting light of the north, wind and bitter cold, handmade box-cameras, and photo paper of questionable reliability, this year I’ve been thinking more about how built into this ongoing project are many reasons why it shouldn’t work. Indeed, this year I don’t even have an on-site darkroom to see my results in near real time and adjust my process accordingly, as I did last year at the Kulttuurikeskus Vanha Paukku / Ostribothnian Photography Centre artist residency in Finland. This year it was only something like educated guesswork and dead reckoning.

It’s a difficult mission and photographically this probably shouldn’t work. But that’s exactly the point.

Music © The F*cked Up Beat — “I Should Never Have Left El Paso / Piano in the House” CC BY-SA 4.0

"Beyond Photography: Honing Your Inspiration into Photographic Fine Art" Skillshare class now available

There’s this notion out there that for artists inspiration is something that just sort of happens to you in a moment, like a lightbulb turning on. That’s totally wrong. Inspiration is a set of ideas that you gather and hone over time, allowing you to be specific with what you want in your results. When we do photography that functions as fine art, we need to make sure that the images we end up making reflect what our initial ideas were.

In this class, written and taught by me, and produced by Skillshare, I discuss and demonstrate my template for honing ideas into relatively precise results. You’ll hear about how I assemble a set of inspiration images in preparation for a photoshoot, assemble them into an Inspiration Image Binder, execute the shoot with those themes in mind, and evaluate the results.

Although this means that at times I’m discussing these things in relation to my own work particularly, the underlying method should apply to any photographer, artist, or designer who wants to calibrate how they use photography to more solidly align with what inspires them in the first place.

If you don’t already have a subscription to Skillshare, use this link to sign up for access.


Interview with The Drop

High-school art teachers Tom Sena and Mike Kunz talked with me for about an hour for their ongoing artist-interview series The Drop on YouTube. It’s always enjoyable and a little daunting to discuss so many things, especially during times of semi-isolation. Nonetheless, we went for it.

"Warp and Weft" exhibition at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery, Asheville

Screen Shot 2020-02-18 at 6.55.21 PM.png

Pleased to be sending eight recent pieces to this group exhibition in the Blue Ridge Mountains. “Warp and Weft”, opening March 6 at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery, will be the third exhibition there to include my work.

From BS1’s site: This exhibition highlights artists who practice with the two main components used in knitting or to create woven fabric - the warp and the weft. While many artists in the show work in textiles, others use warp and weft in basketry, glass sculpture, photo collage and embroidered paintings. 

Artists: Clay Burnette, Erin Castellan, Margaret Dugger, Jessica Green, Carole Hetzel, Connie Lippert, Elysia Mann, Carol Milne, Amy Putansu, David Samuel Stern

Art Wynwood and "Store Front" exhibition with Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami Beach

Excited and honored to have work being show by Robert Fontaine Gallery on two fronts: at Art Wynwood art fair and at the gallery’s first exhibition in its new space, “Store Front”, in Miami Beach.

fig-05.jpg

Robert Fontaine Gallery at Art Wynwood
February 13–17, 2020
One Herald Plaza at NE 14th Street on Biscayne Bay
Booth AW104
Tom Wesselmann, Ben Ashton, Richard Pettibone, James Rosenquist, John Reuss, Julian Opie, Francis Bacon, David Samuel Stern, Anne Pagana, Norman Rockwell

unnamed.jpg

“Store Front”
Robert Fontaine Gallery
1035 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
A survey of postwar, to present day Contemporary Fine Art. The Exhibition will be the gallery’s first show at its new location, which is housed in a historic Art Deco store front space. The opening is set for Thursday, February 20th from 5 - 9pm, at 1035 Washington Avenue Miami Beach FL 33139. The group exhibition continues through March 20th 2020. The new location positions the Robert Fontaine Gallery as neighbor to South Florida’s prized Wolfsonian Museum. STORE FRONT, showcases the Gallery’s unique program, comprised of original drawings, paintings, sculpture and mixed media by museum artists, namely, Hans Hofmann, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Josef Albers, David Hockney, Richard Pettibone, Joan Miro; as well as work of various media from local and international emerging artists, such as, Ashely Oubre, Ben Ashton, Antoine Cordet, Kathy Kissik, RYCA, Luis Lazo, Anthony Lister, John Reuss, Ben Sack, David Samuel Stern, Michal Mraz and Vickie Vainionpää.

Having been an active part of the South Florida art scene Robert Fontaine Gallery is pleased to welcome new and familiar faces to this special evening, which celebrates both the new location and the gallery’s return, to Miami Beach, a city where the gallery first opened its doors, nearly ten years ago this month.


"Emerging to Established Winter Group Exhibition" at Krause Gallery, New York

I’m delighted to have a piece included in this large group exhibition at Krause Gallery (149 Orchard Street) on the Lower East Side, opening January 9, 6:30–8:30 pm.

The roster includes: Ben Frost, Michael Scoggins, Betsy Enzensberger, Yeah Yeah Chloe, Emil Alzamora, Plastic Jesus, E.Lee, SH/sadler, Sally Hewett, Oak Oak, Dimitri Likissas, Hugh Mendes, John LaMacchia, Gale Hart, Stikki Peaches, Ben Allen, Michael Mapes, Tim Nikiforuk, Chris Bakay, and Peter Combe.

"Macho" exhibition at Established Gallery, Brooklyn

IMG_2522.JPG

I’m happy to have a couple pieces included in “Macho,” opening this week at Established Gallery in Brooklyn. Curated by Alexandra Rubinstein and Andrew Smenos, “Macho” examines through an array of artists working in widely ranging media the shifting expressions of and reactions to contemporary masculinity and its toxic excesses.

Deborah Czeresko, Daniel Davidson, Dan Flanagan, Paul Gagner, Rose Nestler, Kristin Racaniello, Erica Rosenfeld, Alexandra Rubinstein, Andrew Smenos, Alfie Steiner, David Samuel Stern, Grace Whiteside.

Artist Residency at Kulttuurikeskus Vanha Paukku, Lapua

Screen Shot 2019-10-24 at 11.20.16 PM.png

For the month of December, I’ll be an artist-in-residence at the Vanha Paukku Cultural Centre in Lapua, Finland. The center is housed in several buildings, the largest of which was, for most of the twentieth century, a rifle cartridge factory. Today the facilities house galleries, studio space, a brewery, restaurant, and museum. The Ostrobothnian Photography Center (POVA) is also on site.

I’ve scheduled the residency for December in order to take advantage of the limited sunlight that the area offers that time of year. For the last couple years, I’ve made analogue pinhole images on and around the winter solstice, the date on which light in the northern hemisphere is most scarce. Using a pinhole camera, photography’s rawest and most fundamental technique, to make a photographic image feels appropriate.

This year, I aim to underscore this notion by traveling close to the arctic circle (the latitude at which, on the winter solstice, the sun will not rise at all—and for much of the winter latitudes even farther north experience polar night), and make sunlight as precious a commodity as possible on this planet. Once there, I’ll assemble pinhole cameras and get to work on this and some related projects.