Stephan Webb

September at Stranger Factory with Creeptoons, Fika Art, Sumrow, and Stephan Webb!

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This September
at
STRANGER FACTORY
Creeptoons & Fika Art, BENEATH THE MIRE / Sumrow, DAWN OF THE DOUGHNUTS / Stephan Webb, FRACTURED MINDS will run from
September 7th – 30th, 2018

Opening Reception: Friday, September 7th from 6-9 PM

Beneath the Mire showcases new work from artists Creeptoons and Fika Art. The show explores themes of Good vs. Evil, hidden motives, and what lies beneath. Vibrant vixens with dark secrets and mischievous mutants with sprightly smiles adorn the landscape of Beneath the Mire. Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem…

Creeptoons is the emerging creature brand by Florida based artist Matt Duncan. His 2d illustrative works begin as automatic drawings which develop as big strokes of drippy landscape and ink blotches that transform into dark and mischievous characters hoping to add chaos and misfortune to his apocalyptic landscapes.

Fika Art is a the illustrated brand of emerging artist Stefani Rabideaux. Her colorful 2d works combine elements of darkness and isolation with vivid contrasting tones that are nostalgic of vintage illustration. Her delicate female characters evoke hope and optimism in dark times.

Dawn of the Doughnuts is a show filled with spooks and sweets. Sumrow joins us for his first feature exhibition, bringing along his army of Mr. Jimmies, the Undead Doughnuts, to thrill and fill the gallery with sprinkles and terror.

John Sumrow is an Albuquerque based illustrator. His focus is with fantasy and science fiction. He spent almost two decades as a graphic designer in the higher education industry, switching gears in 2009 to to focus more on his first loves: painting and illustration.

In Fractured Minds, Stephan Webb explores the inner workings of the human psyche and the forces that are imposed on an individual. What affects the behavior and characteristics of an individual? Join Stranger Factory as Webb tries to investigate the mind by displaying various figurative and expressive forms, as well as geometric elements that produce a surreal composition of the human figure, revealing the inner psyche.

Webb, a local Albuquerque favorite, melds biology themes with intricately cast bronze pieces to create meticulously detailed pieces of art. His degree in biology and love for metal working create a thought-provoking narrative that explores evolution, psychology, and process in an expression that leaves viewers intrigued.

All three exhibitions are free and open to the public.

Stranger Factory
3411 Central Avenue NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-508-3049

 

Stranger Factory’s Seventh Annual Winter Salon

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Stranger Factory’s Seventh Annual
Winter Salon
DECEMBER 2017

Stranger factory is so pleased to announce our seventh annual group winter exhibition!

Our small works annual group show is an end of year celebration and one of our most exciting exhibitions, featuring new artwork from many local and international artists. This year’s talented line up promises to provide a variety of enticing alternatives for the upcoming gift-giving season including original sketches, paintings, sculptures, plush, and jewelry!
Participating artists, this year, include Daniel Aaron, Creeptoons, Jeremy Cross, Karl Deuble, Fika Art, fufufanny, Johnpaul Gutierrez, Jay Hallopeter, Cassia Harries, Jellykoe, Ken Keirns, Patt Kelley, Shing Yin Khor, Tim Lee, MUMBOT, Jen Musatto, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters, Ratokim, Vanessa Ramirez, Ellie Rusinova, David Santiago, Joe Scarano, Brandan Styles, Sweet Bestiary, Anna Tillett, The Rots, Mizna Wada, and Stephan Webb.

Winter Salon VII will run from
December 1st – 31st, 2017

Opening Reception: December 1st from 6-9 PM
Stranger Factory
3411 Central Avenue NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106

Designer Con Releases Round 5

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How about another quick Designer Con post before I Iose the plot completely!

Three new artists we are bringing to Pasadena, CA this weekend with us are Tim Lee, Brandan Styles, and Stephan Webb. All three are planning to pack our booth full of original works of art and amazement! This will be one awesome weekend!

See you at booth #700

Here are some examples of what they will have in tow:
Brandan Styles Brandan Styles4Brandan Styles’ Woodcuts

Stephan Webb 4 Stephan Webb 5

Stephan Webb’s bronze sculpts
(many are wearable)

Tim Lee TimLeepropmo1Fan favorite Tim Lee returms with woodcuts and Skelve masks!

Designer Con
November 8 and 9
Pasadena Convention Center 
Exhibit Hall A & B
300 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101

Designer Con spotlight: Stephan Webb

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Another newcomer to this year’s Designer Con is bronze sculpture artist Stephan Webb!

You have seen his amazing work at Stranger Factory openings and his jewelry on many of our patrons, but now we get to bring him with us to California with us! If you are unfamiliar with Stephan, here’s a summary of his amazing biology inspired art –

Some of my artwork takes a surrealistic view of biological processes and how they interact with our fabricated human environments. Evolution is an ongoing process and I try to show this in my art work. I tell a story of organisms that have evolved in cohesion with man’s machines or discarded relics. For example, coral reefs may use sunken air planes as a foundation to start a new colony. How far can this interaction go? Can organisms entirely integrate man-made objects into their complex systems? I merge biology with industry and shapes that most people are familiar with to try and convey this concept.

My latest artwork explores the inner workings of the human psyche, the forces that are imposed on an individual and the things that affect the behavioral characteristics of that individual. I do this by displaying various figurative and expressionistic forms, as well as geometric elements, that produce a surreal composition of the human figure or mind. Often these themes are combined in intricate sculptures that feature biological entities and structures juxtaposed with harsh geometric shapes. I try to establish a soft merger of the two in order to propose a more harmonious relationship between the biological and the industrial to create a feeling of cohesion, a singing “machine.” I represent thought process as a theoretical mechanism, using gears, levers, pulleys and other industrial elements to represent the dynamics of changing thought. However, even though thought is consistently entropic, the machinery used to create thought rarely changes for an individual. This work also deals with the concept of inner thought and how, as individuals, we “mask” our thoughts by taking on different persona’s or characters. Even though we think we are in charge of our characters, there is still an underlying unconsciousness that manipulates who we are.

In addition, we recently got to see an amazing video of Stephan’s process and work. Check it out!

Stephan Webb – Sculpture Artist from Perspectives by Kim Jew on Vimeo.

Stephan will have many originals on hand at Designer Con, along with some brilliant jewelry.
Here is a small preview of what he is bringing to the convention.
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Designer Con
November 8 and 9
Pasadena Convention Center
Exhibit Hall A & B
300 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101

 

April’s Opening Night!

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Lots of Scott Radke at Opening

This past Friday night saw the opening of Kathie Olivas‘ “Scout“, Scott Radke’s “Interface“. and Stephan Webb’s “Evolutionary End Game“. As with most shows at Stranger Factory, it was jaw dropping! Luckily, Brandt snapped some images and Vine videos for us – check them out below!

The online request period for art from these three shows begins TODAY at 12 NOON – further instructions, and preview is here.

 

 

 

A recap before the April Opening

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For the past month, we have been bringing you updates, news, and a multitude of images from the upcoming shows by Scott Radke, Stephan Webb, and Kathie Olivas. While the last touches of paint dry and the finishing edits on the preview are done, we thought  we’d recap a few of the pieces we covered. Knowing how we operate, you might want to pay attention for some images you may have not seen yet. Just a warning to keep a good eye out. :)

Hopefully this will hold you over until the preview comes out tonight!

A few more Olivas paintings for Scout

◄ Back
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Stephan Webb’s Machinations

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Good Friday has come and gone, and now we’re preparing for Even Better Friday at Stranger Factory, where we’ll open three solo shows by Kathie Olivas, Stephan Webb and Scott Radke!

For now, here’s another look at the amazing machinations of Stephan Webb! This bronze sculpture has a truly stunning amount of detail, and most of them probably aren’t even easy to capture in a picture! I love the blend of industrial-fantasy in this work, and I can’t help but marvel at the miniature pulleys and knots.

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Webb is one of the most distinctive new voices coming out of the Albuquerque art scene these days, and we are proud to have him showing at Stranger Factory. Come and meet him, shake his hand, clap him on the back, and buy him a drink or a doughnut this Friday(April 5th) at his opening reception for Evolutionary End Game, from 6-9pm!

Stephan Webb and more skeletons!

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webb_skeleton

Another day brings us another look into Stephan Webb’s slightly charred studio space. “Messy art – welding some bronze skeletons together!” he says, and we love the mess he makes. The owl skeleton that we last showed in hand carved wax has now been cast in bronze and looks appropriately majestic. We cannot wait to see this beast completely welded together – Stephan’s brand of sheer sculpting talent mashed up with his nerdy love of natural history is going to produce a glorious show.

Stephan Webb’s “Evolutionary End Game” opens at Stranger Factory on April 5th. An opening reception will be held on April 5th from 6-9pm, and Stephan will be present.

Webb’s Evolution

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There is something mesmerizing about a shadowed image. When we sought an image for Stephan Webb’s  EVOLUTIONARY END GAME, we were graced with this scintillating piece of design. The image itself creates a challenging aesthetic and cognitive experience when coupled with the title of his show.

Evolution can be excruciatingly slow, but it seems Stephan has adapted his work for this show to display that it can be in our hands. The image portrays a man building or puppeteering another man, and how we are accelerating to new heights quicker than ever before. We can’t be certain until the full reveal later in the month(although we are pretty certain), but his sculptures we have seen for the exhibit are proving to be simply astounding and full of layered meaning.

We also got a chance to talk to Stephan about his work, which was pretty worth it for the bad pun alone.

CP: Tell us about your art!

WEBB: My art is so metal! No, literally. It’s metal.

CP: Why have you chosen bronze as your medium?

WEBB: I was always intrigued by bronze and metal casting, but it wasn’t until I took a bronze casting class that I  completely fell in love with bronze. I love that someone can take a completely raw material and essentially create something from nothing. Also, it lasts thousands of years. That’s kinda cool.

Webb_s_Camouflage

CP: You also have a biology degree right? It’s a clear influence on your art – but which came first – art or biology?

Yes, I do. Art and science have always gone hand in hand for me. When I was 6, my favorite book was A Natural History of Dinosaurs. I would draw the dinosaurs, memorize their names and then try to describe the theory of continental drift to my classmates. Didn’t go over so well. My teachers thought I made the whole thing up.

CP: Do you consider living in Albuquerque an influence on your art? If so, how?

WEBB: Less of an influence, more of a convenience. One of the biggest suppliers for casting materials and tools in the country is located right here in Albuquerque. Really convenient when you run out of something in the middle of working.

CP: What can we expect to see from you from this upcoming show at Stranger Factory?

WEBB: Evolutionary End Game is going to be more organic and less mechanical than most of my work. This series deals with some evolutionary concepts such as transitional species and “missing links.” I like the idea that our knowledge of extinct organisms is derived from what is found in the fossil record. What about the creatures that left no evidence of their existence? The possibilities are endless.

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Stephan Webb’s “Evolutionary End Game” opens April 5th at Stranger Factory along with Scott Radke’s  “Interface”, and Kathie Olivas‘ “Scout ”. An opening reception will occur April 5th from 6-9pm.

Hand Carved Wax Skeleton from Stephan Webb

Getting progress images from Stephan Webb is always a real treat because it always offers little insights into the bronze casting process. This time, he has sent along a hand carved wax of an owl skeleton(left). This wax model will be molded, and then melted away to be replaced by hot molten bronze.

I threw in a picture of an actual owl skeleton(right), so you can marvel at Stephan’s accuracy and detail! I’m excited to see what else gets incorporated into this skeleton, and I’m certain that Stephan will not disappoint us.

owlskeleton

Stephan Webb’s “Evolutionary End Game” opens at Stranger Factory on April 5th. An opening reception will be held on April 5th from 6-9pm, and Stephan will be present.