Ian Stephenson: È un Punto di Partenza (It is a Starting Point)

For the final exhibition of 2019, Chelsea Space presents a solo show of the work of Ian Stephenson (1934-2000). A former tutor at Chelsea School of Art, (1959-89), Stephenson studied under Sir Lawrence Gowing at Kings College Newcastle (1951-56), to become a Studio Demonstrator on the ‘Basic Course’, the now iconic experiment in art education founded by the artists Victor Pasmore and Richard Hamilton. The exhibition focuses on a series of collages by Stephenson, commenced when travelling through Italy, in 1959 on a Boise Scholarship with his wife Kate Brown, a fellow student. The works, selected by Kate, reflect the influences they both experienced abroad, and the transitions they would then make into their adult careers, as artists, and educators. Ian Stephenson (1934-2000) is known as an abstract pointillist artist, with work that is characteristically made by splattering droplets of paint onto paper or canvas and repeating this with many different colours. He had his first show in London at the New Vision Centre in 1958. An exhibition of his work was held at the Hayward Gallery in 1977 and his work can be found in the collections of the Tate, the British Council and Whitworth Art Gallery. His work was also featured in the 1966 film, Blow-Up by Michelangelo Antonioni.