Stephen Price
Artist Stephen Price, born in Palermo, spent the first 19 years of his life living in Italy after his parents emigrated from Ghana. His rich, humanistic portraits are textural yet delicate, layered with a smoky melody of marks that appeal on both an emotional and visual level. His work is subtle, and in its elegant simplicity, powerful.
Basing his approach in a combination of abstraction and representation, Stephen uses his imagination alongside sourced images and photographs, to create highly emotive portraits that unpack his personal narrative and identity. Specifically reflecting on his own Black identity through materials such as velvety charcoal to celebrate the rich depth and beauty of blackness, as well as atmospheric colour to ground these nameless and faceless figures in nature.
“I believe my work is helping me to express my Black identity, specifically in celebrating the beauty of Blackness through those materials, which allow the work to be closer to my own reality and experiences.”
Yellow is the colour of the sun, full of hope and positivity. It encourages optimism and interaction from the viewer. There is a tenderness and a sensitivity in his work. It's not confrontational, it simply exists in pure innocence and grace. Warmth.
Stephen Price studied at the University of Northampton. He lives and works in Birmingham.