Stevens Vaughn

Stevens Vaughn
at MAAM in Rome 2015.
Born
Fairmont, Minnesota, US
OccupationsConceptual Artist, Ritualistic Painter, Ceramics Designer
Known for'Calligraphy of Water' and 'Water is a Color' 'Terra Vita' 'Buffet of Emotions' 'The Sarcophagus for Queen Margrethe II' 'Primordial' "You are the Center of your world"
Parent(s)Vince Vaughn and Joyce Anderson
Websitewww.stevensvaughn.com

Stevens Vaughn is an American sculptor and ritualistic water painter.

Early life and Artistic Practice

Stevens Vaughn grew up on a cattle farm in Fairmont, Minnesota. In 1978, he was sent by the Peace Corps to the Philippines to work with tropical agriculture, beginning a life long relationship with anthropology and Asian art, history and mythology.

Vaughn established a career as a designer and sculptor in Asia and other parts of the world, opening studios in Taiwan, China; Sri Lanka; Mexico; Japan; and mainland China.During his 9 years based in Japan, he was influenced by Ma (negative space) and Shibui aesthetics as part of a non-dualistic conception of the world.

His art encourages dialogue, as he combines traditional media and techniques with ideas of contemporary human interactivity. His throw and drip water ink paintings are simultaneously performance events that highlight the flexibility inherent in raw creative materials that exist as part of a universe of natural forces. He has sculpted Guanyin heads in Red Star army uniforms in traditional Jingdezhen porcelain, and has established through particular works contemporary lines of descent from mythologies and ancient thought systems.

Part of his artistic approach can be described by referring to ideas of “playfulness” in context of the Northern Song and Tang Dynasty artistic construct called Yi Pin (逸品). Yi Pin is a holistic Daoist art and life philosophy Vaughn blended into his life as a ceramicist and performance painter in the time he was resident on the historical island of Gulangyu. Today, he creates in his studios in Dehua, Fujian, China, and Valparaíso, Chile. During Vaughn's years in Asia and Scandinavia, he was deeply influenced by Gutai and Fluxus ideas of spontaneity and collaborative experimentation.

In addition to his own art, he works collaboratively on specialized production techniques, most notably in his 14 year long collaboration with artist Bjørn Nørgaard (Denmark) as an advisor for the construction of the crystal sarcophagus for Margrethe II of Denmark and his Royal Highness, the Prince Consort.

His painting technique uses instability of water-based paint mediums to create images sensitive to the vibrancy and force of the world in interaction with sensory experience. His performance painting has been described as “a calligraphy of water.”.

"You are the center of your world", Dragon Throne.
Stevens Vaughn, 'Invert Mountains'.

Career

In 1984, Vaughn set up a glass sculpture and blowing studio in Hsinchu, Taiwan and designed media for retailers in the United States, including Neimen Marcus, Bloomingdale's and Gump's. During this time, he also designed products in Limoges, France and glasswork on the island of Murano, Italy.

In 1988, Vaughn was hired as Vice President of Fitz and Floyd and was sent to Japan to learn sculpting and ceramic painting techniques. It was here that he began to learn that "imperfection is essential to creating a state of perfection". Vaughn went on to develop ceramic and porcelain studios in Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, and China. In 1991, he spent one year in Cuernevaca, Mexico, developing a porcelain studio based on what he learned in Asia and in 1992 he moved to Sri Lanka, in addition to continued residencies in China and Japan. In 1996, he moved permanently to the historic island of Gulangyu in Fujian, China where he played a major role in the development of porcelain art in the cities of Chaozhou and Dehua.

During this time, he collaborated with artist Bjørn Nørgaard (Denmark) as a technical adviser for the crystal sarcophagus of Margrethe II of Denmark and his Royal Highness the Prince Consort.

Model of the Sarcophagus for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

While in China, Vaughn developed a technique of performance action painting. Vaughn's performance paintings are on display at the Chongqing LAB Art Museum, where he performed at its inauguration, in Shanghai at the Ke Art Museum and at MAAM in Rome. He has held solo exhibitions in Buenos Aires, Valparaíso, Curitiba, London, Berlin, Brazzaville, Bulgaria, Sofia, Miami, Rome and Shanghai, while his ceramic art sculptures have been exhibited in China, Scandinavia and South America.

Vaughn holds an adjunct professorship at the Ceramics Institute of Dehua and has lectured at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. In 2006, he was appointed a professor in the Dieter Roth Academy in Gulangyu, China.

Notable Art Pieces

ARTLAB Museum Chongqing. Inauguration ceremony, permanent piece by Stevens Vaughn

Vaughn has stated “the art which I construct is a result of the lived experience”. Vaughn is a ceramicist and sculptor who has extended his practice into performance-based interpretations of diverse art media. Vaughn engages with traditional Chinese ink water techniques within an aesthetic context that emphasizes play, performance and spontaneity in expression.

Vaughn's style of performative action painting and his multi-media collaborations with the post-Fluxus movement in Xiamen, China, positions his art in relation to Western artists also working within the scope of Asian philosophy and contemporary conceptualism, such as Bjorn Roth, Colette Hosmer, Sigurður Guðmundsson Bjørn Nørgaard, and Bård Breivik. Vaughn's performative paintings serve as permanent installations in museums around the world. He performed at the inauguration ceremony for ART LAB Museum at Chongqing, China. His series 'Primordial' and 'Baptism of Color' have featured in exhibitions in Iceland, London, Congo, Argentina, Denmark and the National Gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Vaughn's art is diverse and he is well known for his interpretations of Guan Yin Buddha, depicted always in a Red Star uniform. Vaughn's art installation "You are the center of the world” was presented at the Ch.ACO Art Fair 2020, through his Fluxus-inspired gallery, Nothing Gallery. "You are at the center of the world" is a contemporary interpretation of the ideas of power and responsibility through a multi-media presentation of art objects exploring ancient Chinese iconography, from the imperial 'Dragon' throne to the wuxing (五行). Vaughn's 'Dragon Throne' was first exhibited in the Curitiba Biennale in Brazil 2018, where over 50,000 visitors sat in the throne.

In 2022, Vaughn participated in the Lorne Biennale in Melbourne, Victoria constructing a 4.5 meter tall, 'Throne of Potentiality', out of bronze, with use of Australian iconography and cast-iron techniques. Marking the end of the COVID-19 pandemic response period in Australia, the Throne of Potentially was exhibited on the end of Lorne Pier, a symbolic expression of the road to the nation of the imagination that would bring the Australian nation out of an era of crisis.

Stevens Vaughn, Guanyin Buddhas

Selected exhibitions

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Stevens Vaughn". Stevens Vaughn. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Stevens Vaughn". Connect Business Magazine. May 2012. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  3. 1 2 3 "Calligrafia D'Acqua opere di Stevens Vaughn". julietartmagazine - rivista d'arte contemporanea. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  4. ↑ "Negozi aperti e tanti eventi: i carraresi affollano il centro - Cronaca - il Tirreno". il Tirreno. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  5. ↑ "Per trovare tanta Italia? Bisogna andare alla Bienal del Fin del Mundo. Al via in Cile il secondo step della rassegna sudamericana curata da Massimo Scaringella". Artribune. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  6. ↑ "4° Edición de la Bienal del Fin del Mundo – Mar del Plata – Argentina". boek861.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  7. ↑ "yokohama" (PDF).
  8. ↑ Stevens Vaughn (2015-10-17), Bienal del Fin del Mundo 4-Mar del Plata, Argentina 2014, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2016-04-13
  9. ↑ "Susanne Ottesen: Exhibitions: Past: 2007: Group Exhibition, Mine Kinesiske Venner". www.susanneottesen.dk. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  10. ↑ "Water Movement Color interview to Stevens Vaughn". Brain Art (in Italian). December 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  11. ↑ "Bjørn Nørgaard - Projects". www.bjoernnoergaard.dk. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  12. ↑ "滚动中的雪球-欧洲艺术展-领SHOW天地商业运营公司-官方网站". www.1showing.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  13. ↑ "Stevens Vaughn".
  14. ↑ "Stevens Vaughn /// Calligrafia D'Acqua". Innerspace17 (in Italian). Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  15. ↑ "Página 14 El Mercurio de Valparaíso - 25.01.2015". www.mercuriovalpo.cl/ (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  16. ↑ "Ch.ACO 11 - The International Contemporary Art Fair of Chile".
  17. ↑ "Giant throne without pier heading for Lorne". The Age Newspaper. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.