STEPHEN SOMPLE (b. Ohio, 1980)
Stephen Somple lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Somple investigates the interactions between shape and form via aleatoric performances. Using flat sheets of brass he creates and films scenarios in which the sheet is dented, sometimes with three dimensional objects, but often using his own body to fall on and deform/form the initial shape into a three dimensional object. This dented brass sheet is then solder closed, sanded, oxidized and waxed. The chemical reaction in the oxidizing process is itself a fickle and unruly technique that always leaves a record of the artist’s hand at work. In this way the chance encounter of the form is reinforced by the defects and flaws in in the surface.
His chance based forms are born from a desire to explore and meditate on the fundamental elements of composition and abstraction by reducing and separating compositional choices from his practice.
Before turning his full attention to fine art, Stephen Somple apprenticed as a silversmith, fabricating and restoring traditional hollowware. In dialogue with the techniques of the metal arts, his work seeks to isolate interaction between the basic elements of art, with an emphasis on process, craft, and chance. His work has been shown in exhibitions around the U.S. and internationally by The Hole Gallery, Joshua Liner Gallery, Tiger Strike Asteroid, Colossal Youth Exhibitions and Egg Collective.
