POOL PARTY

HUGO GALERIE, NYC 2019

With this exhibition, the artist takes his audience to “a place where it’s always holiday.” So grab your sunglasses and join us on this midsummer sojourn!

Sunbathers and beach cruisers mingle with elephants, tigers, and zebras. Penguins are easily mistaken for pool floats and alligators are offered ice cream. Laundry wafts on the line while sharks and pigs alike shimmer in the summer sun. Welcome to Stephens’ exhilarating world. Of course lions enjoy pineapple. 

 He muses, “through these works I want you to experience my sunny summertime affair, the romance of time, where we can enjoy free spirited wonders, time to play and dream with no distractions from dull reality.” And he succeeds. The artist’s unrepentant glee is a welcome respite from the usual, gritty grind. His canvases effervesce with a contagious joy. Stephens taps into emotions that might be described as childlike if they weren’t so perceptively aware of what taking yourself too seriously ultimately sacrifices: happiness. A short vacation to Stephens’ world, a glimpse through his rose-tinted sunglasses, is an exuberant reminder to delight in our own.