The artists
Stephanie Imbeau
Stephanie Imbeau was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1982 and attended Ohio State University before coming to England in 2005 to study for a Master of Fine Arts degree at Newcastle University. She graduated in 2007 and has since dedicated as much time as she can to pursuing an artistic career. She lives in west London.
Much of Stephanie’s work deals with the themes of community, home, and shelter. It also reflects her fascination with everyday objects and the stories inherent within them.
‘I genuinely love selecting materials,’ Stephanie says. ‘My ideas usually (but not always) form around whatever I happen to be using. My favourite place to go to find inspiration and ideas is a hardware store. I like the idea of turning an industrial or domestic material into art. It gives the materials a chance to be something other than what they were initially created to be, and it also helps me to explore my interests in the everyday and domesticity.’
Stephanie Imbeau's Inside installation
The Big 4 is, of course, big, and Stephanie is used to visualising on a large scale. ‘I'm attracted to the idea of being able to physically experience art, for it to be something almost unavoidable, something the viewer can be engulfed by. Presenting my art on a large scale is in this sense a straightforward answer to the question of how I can make my art an experience for the viewer (and myself). Also, I think part of my attraction to making big work is to try to recapture the sense of awe and wonder that a child feels when looking at the world.’
The life of a young artist - particularly one who makes large installations - is not an easy one, however. Stephanie works part-time as a temp to help pay the rent, and she is on a waiting list for a studio. ‘Lately, since I don't have a studio, I have been working on a much smaller scale and doing more drawings, small watercolour and gouache paintings and small wire sculptures. It's been an interesting challenge working on a smaller scale, but I find that even when working smaller, I'm thinking of what the works would be like if realised on a larger scale.’
Stephanie Imbeau's Village installation
Stephanie already has four solo shows and 10 group shows in her CV, with several proposals in the pipeline. ‘I really hope to be able to carry on making art and working on projects,’ she says. ‘I love the excitement and challenge of turning an idea into reality and all the things I learn along the way. I have no idea what this will look like in reality, but in practical terms I guess that means either getting represented by a gallery or having more successful proposals for public art commissions. Fame isn't necessarily something I aspire to, but I’d like enough recognition and artistic success to be a practising artist alone, without having to work a second job to supplement my income.’
