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Souls in Stone: Works in Alabaster and Marble by Matthew Stevens-Foster

November 15, 2003 - February 14, 2004

 

The Parthenon is presenting the work of Nashville artist Matthew Stevens-Foster in an exhibit entitled Souls in Stone, through February 14, 2004 in the West Gallery. (right: Matthew Foster, Expecting to Fly, Georgia Marble)

Matthew Stevens-Foster is a self-taught artist who carves images from marble quarried in Alabama and Georgia, and occasionally he works with alabaster. With these raw and hard materials he creates images that range from polished to rough, even primitive. He utilizes all sides of the marble, carving his sculptures in the round. Sometimes through his carving he pulls contrasting images from the different sides of an individual piece, so that as the sculpture is viewed from different angles it changes dramatically. But each one of his sculptures speaks of balance and harmony with self and with nature. Many of the figures in Stevens-Foster's work have an ancient god-like quality. He feels that all of these carvings are "abstractly rendered reflections of reality."

Stevens-Foster moved to Nashville from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He still maintains a studio in the Ortiz Mountains, south of Santa Fe, but currently works in a studio behind his home in Nashville. His sculpture can be found in galleries in California, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, and Tennessee. Critics have commented that Stevens-Foster's "soul-stirring works are evocative of the human experience" and that he is capable of transforming carved stone "into stylized, figurative expressions of spiritual strength."

 

About Matthew Stevens-Foster

Matthew Stevens-Foster is rising to the forefront of contemporary art sculpture. His works are abstractly rendered reflections of reality. Each piece has a story that speaks of balance and harmony with self and with nature. Stevens-Foster is a self-taught artist who carves images from marble and alabaster. Many of his sculptures depict the primitive and range from polished to rough images of ancient god-like figures. Stevens-Foster carves his sculptures in the round and they can be viewed from all sides. The sculptures tend to change dramatically as they are viewed from different angles.

Stevens-Foster moved to Nashville from Santa Fe, New Mexico to seek a new depth of creation. His wife and child and his personal life experiences all inspire his work. He maintains a studio in the Ortiz Mountains, south of Santa Fe, while working from a studio near his home in Nashville. His work can be found in galleries in California, New Mexico, Colorado, Georgia and Tennessee.

Art critics have commented that Stevens-Foster's "soul-stirring works are evocative of the human experience" and that they he is capable of making "stone carved into stylized, figurative expressions of spiritual strength."

 

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