Larry Stefl

Artist Statement:

I am a practicing artist/ art educator/ musician with my Masters in Fine Art from the University of California at Berkeley.  My art in sculpture, printmaking, collage and drawing has been shown in over 90 exhibitions in the last 30 years in California, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey and Japan.

My current body of work in printmaking and collage is from the "Brasil Series".  The primary concern in these works is the use of color  combined with gestural markings and a multilayered compositional structure.  Working with the monotype process lends itself to experimentation and invention developing new work.  Degas called monotypes cuisine because the process fed new ideas in his art.  The "Brasil Series" has been inspired by travels to Brazil, particularly the African based influence in the region of Bahia, influencing profoundly my artistic expression in terms of color and gesture.

As a sculptor, I am attracted to the natural and organic qualities of working with the ancient paper pulp medium.  For 15 years, I worked on a "Chant Series", which are wall sculpture in cast paper and bees wax.  These works combine a focus for the interaction of color with three dimensional form.  They are influenced by an interest in zen and travels to Japan, Nepal and Bali.  The "Chant Series" has a universal quality that convey pure form, transcendant color and vibrant texture.  The richly colored circular works nourish the eye and refresh the spirit with numinous tones.

I am also a practicing jazz guitarist/ composer and bring a prominent sense of improvisation and a lyricism to the art making process.