STEPHEN PORTERCOURTHOUSE GALLERY FINE ART

I like outdoor sculpture and the most practical thing for outdoor sculpture

is stainless steel, and I make them and I polish them in such a way that

on a dull day, they take on the dull blue, or the color of the sky in the late

afternoon sun, the glow, golden like the rays, the colors of nature. And in

a particular sense, I have used atmosphere in a reflective way on the

surfaces. They are colored by the sky and the surroundings, the green

or blue of water. Some are down by the water and some are by the

mountains. They reflect the colors. They are designed for outdoors.

–David Smith, 1964

COVER Southern Bend II 2008 stainless steel, 48 x 96 x 65 inchesCircle 34 stainless steel, 18 x 18 x 18 inches, available as edition

Cour t Street Ellswor th, Maine 04605 cour thousegaller y.com 207 667 6611

STEPHEN PORTERJUNE 24 - JULY 25, 2010

essay by Karin Wilkes

Three Curves 2009, granite, 4 x 22 x 28 inches

OPPOSITE Cubi 2 2007, stainless steel, 16 x 10 x 11 inches

Stephen Porter: Basic Form, Polished Elegance

Stephen Porter’s stainless-steel sculptures are meant to be outdoors—in fields, parks, or gardens—where his highly polished surfaces canreflect the atmospheric moods of the environment. Here, the mirroredsurface takes advantage of the changing light, turning cold, sterile steelinto a vehicle for personal reflection.

Although Porter works in polished stainless steel, bronze, and laminatedhardwoods, he favors the natural quality of stainless steel, an alloy thatdoesn’t rust or tarnish, making it perfect for outdoor use. Stainless steelalso suits his preference for a smooth polished surface, a commonalitythroughout his work.

Porter is attracted to basic geometric forms and credits primitive art asa major influence. He uses only two forms, circles and cubes, yet henever seems to exhaust the possibilities for intriguing design. Circle 34,an exquisite piece of workmanship and design, binds together two opencircles, question marks if you will, in opposite directions, creating amultitude of surfaces, angles, and elevations that become inherentlymore complex when they reflect their environment.

Porter’s minimalist approach to design favors abstract, non-literal form.His appreciation for exquisite form is evident in the modern influenceshe names: Brancusi, David Smith, the Russian Constructivists(Rodchenko, Tatlin, and the Stenberg brothers), Henry Moore, JacquesLipchiptz, and Barbara Hepworth. Porter begins each sculpture by makinga small maquette, or model, from wood, a process that allows him tovisualize his ideals and test his designs. He knows his craft well througha lifetime of sculpting and through his career as a Professor of Art atPenn State University where he taught sculpture for 29 years.

Stone Circle 12008granite17 x 21 x 20 inches

Stone Circle 42010granite8 x 12 x 8 inches

OPPOSITE

Series 11 #12008stainless steel12 x 16 x 66 inches

Porter’s first serious forays into making sculp-ture were Brancusi-inspired rough-carved wood-en totems, several of which burned in a fire thatdestroyed his studio in Searsmont during thewinter of 2009. Porter has since built a spa-cious modern studio with separate rooms forwoodworking, metalwork, and welding. Thisunfortunate loss was devastating nonetheless,and several irreplaceable steel sculptures stillsit charred in a corner.

Porter began his stainless steel series nearly20 years ago. Series 11, a favorite of the artist,stacks cube-shaped forms into architecturaltowers. Series 12 deviates by adding circles,making Totem, his most recent tower, morehuman than architectural.

Three years ago, Porter began to explore graniteas a medium, and this too he polishes to anultra-smooth finish. In the recent Black CircleSeries, Porter combines polished granite withpolished stainless steel. Here, the juxtapositionallows the components to become introspective.In Black Circle 1, a stainless-steel cylinder pokesthrough a hole in a black granite disc. Anotherlarge round hole carved into the granite reflectsonto the stainless-steel cylinder, morphing intoan oblong circle.

Another granite series, the Stone Circle Series,is comprised of perfectly polished granite discs

Totem2010stainless steel67 x 14 x 20 inches

OPPOSITE

Series 10 #42007stainless steel69 x 21 x 25 inches

with subtle planes that define a simple, yetmethodically constructed and weighted sculp-ture. Stone Circle 1 and 4 are self-propelled andwill roll across the floor like a ball under theirown power. For a reserved man of few wordswho can appear aloof, Porter’s playful approachis a pleasant surprise. His inner boy hasappeared before, however, in his laminatedwood series, Rotate, with their movable parts,and one can’t help but notice that the rows ofsmall wooden maquettes in his woodworkingshop look and feel more like toys than modelsfor serious art.

Porter grew up in a family of artists. His father,Eliot Porter, was a noted photographer and thebrother of painter Fairfield Porter. His mother,Aline Porter, was a painter and came from afamily of artists. Porter’s maternal grandmotherwas a well-known Boston painter and his maternalgrandfather an accomplished Boston architect.

Raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Porter learnedto use woodworking tools in his father’s wood-shop early on. There, his father taught him toappreciate fine workmanship. By the age of 10,Porter made his first sculpture from volcanicpumice, and sold it at the Burro Alley Gallery inSanta Fe.

Betty Parsons, an art dealer who helped startthe careers of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko,

Clyfford Still, and Ellsworth Kelly, among others,was a good friend of Porter’s mother. Parsonsfollowed Porter’s efforts in sculpture, and whenhe graduated from Cornell, she offered him ashow at her New York gallery.

Porter received his BA from Colorado Collegeand his MFA from Cornell University. He learnedto weld at Cornell, and it was here that the circleform became all-consuming. “I did a lot of circlesat Cornell,” Porter said, exasperated, as if thefrenzied exploration were still fresh in his mind.Reflecting back on a lifetime of making sculpture,Porter sums up his life as an artist: “I like towork with my hands, and I came from family ofartists. There was never any question I wouldbecome anything other than a sculptor.”

I, for one, am glad he did.

Karin WilkesDirector, Courthouse Gallery Fine Art

Curves 2.61996stainless steel33 x 12 x 12 inches

OPPOSITE

Circle 17199818 x 18 x 18 inchesavailable as edition

Series 11 #15 Red2008

aluminum12 x 12 x 69 inches

OPPOSITE

Black Circle 12008

stainless steel and granite17 x 21 x 20 inches

Cube Column 52007stainless steel54 x 24 x 19private collection

OPPOSITE

Split Circle 32008granite14 x 22 x 13 inches

Series 10 #123/2007

stainless steel16 x 18 x 62 inches

OPPOSITE

Black Circle 32007

stainless steel and granite21 x 23 x 22 inches

STEPHEN PORTERSOLO EXHIBITIONS (partial listing)Courthouse Gallery Fine Art, Ellsworth, Maine, 2010Robert Kidd Gallery (two man show), Birmingham, MI, 2003Butters Gallery, Portland, OR, 2000Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, TX, 1998Gallery G, Pittsburgh, PA, 1986 (three-man show)Upstairs Gallery, Ithaca, NY, 1966, 1985 (two-man show)Suzanne Gross Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 1984Federal Reserve Board, Washington, DC, March 1983–December 1984Diane Brown Sculpture Space, Washington, DC, 1981Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, NY, 1969, ’70, ’71, ’74, ’ 78, ’81Diane Brown Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1978Gallery One, University of Maine at Orono, Maine, 1977Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, 1977Parsons-Truman Gallery, New York, NY, 1976Gallery Without Walls, Buffalo, NY, 1972

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (partial listing)Sculpture at Maine Audubon, Falmouth, Maine, 2007Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, 2007Blum Gallery College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, 2005Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, 2006Butters Gallery, Portland, OR, 2000PDX, Portland, OR, 1998Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, 1995Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1986Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, 1986Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, 1986, ’85, ’88, ’91, ’94Beaver College, Glenside, PA, 1982Shidoni Gallery, Tesuque, NM, 1981, 1982Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 1979, ’80, ’81Cheltenham Art Center, Philadelphia, PA, 1981Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA, 1980William Penn Memorial Museum, Harrisburg, PA, 1979Maine Coast Artists, Rockport, Maine, 1974, ’78Sculpture Now Gallery, New York, NY, 1977Galerie Simmone Stern, New Orleans, LA, 1973Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, NY, 1970

COLLECTIONS (partial listing)Albuquerque Museum of Art, History and Science, Albuquerque, NMHerbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Untiled Bronze commissionwelded bronze50 x 87 x 96 inchesState College, PA

Itaca Bend commissionstainless steel73 x 100 x 60 inchesIthaca, NY

River Bend commissionweathering steel240 x 93 x 72 inchesElmira, New York

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PAPalmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, PASouthern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PAStorm King Art Center, Mountainville, NYWorcester Art Museum, Worcester, MAThe University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PALehigh University, Bethlehem, PALafayette College, Easton, PABeaver College, Glenside, PATexas A & M University, College Station, TexasChase Manhattan Bank, New York, NYPittsburgh National Bank, Pittsburgh, PAAtlantic Record Company, New York, NYRobert Scott Corporation, New York, NYFairview Heights, Ithaca, NYThe Barash Group, State College, PAParker/Hunter, Inc, Pittsburgh, PAArmco Steel, Pittsburgh, PA

COMMISSIONS AND AWARDSJohn Deere, Cary, NC, sculpture, 2003SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC, sculpture, 1995Centrex Precision Plastics, Bellefonte, PA, sculpture/sign, 1992A W and Sons Enterprises, State College, PA, sculpture, 1988The Towers, State College, PA, sculpture and three signs, 1988Art in Public Places, State College, PA, sculpture, 1988Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, Pa., sculpture, 1987Chemung Canal Trust Co., Elmira, NY, sculpture, 1987A W and Sons Enterprises, State College, PA, sculpture/sign, 1987State of the Art, Inc., State College, PA, sculpture, 1986PFG/Zimmerman Development Corp., State College, Pa., sculpture, 1986McKinsey and Company, Cleveland, Ohio, sculpture, 1985Westfield Realty, Arlington, VA, sculpture, 1984Borg Warner Automotive, Ithaca, NY, sculpture, 1984Rouse Associates, Landover, Md., four sculptures, 1981–1983Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY, Art in Public Places competition, 1977Hans Gramm Memorial Sculpture, Penn State University, Reading, PA, 1980

EDUCATIONColorado College, BA Degree, 1963Cornell University, MFA Degree, 1967

TEACHINGCornell University, Asst. Professor of Art, Department of Art, 1971-73Penn State University, Professor of Art, School of Visual Arts, 1973-2002The University of Maine, Orono, 2003-Department of New Media, Art

Cour t Street Ellswor th, Maine 04605 cour thousegaller y.com 207 667 6611

Split Circle 1 2009, stainless steel and granite, 18 x 12 x 8 inches