| Biography: | |
Artist/illustrator Stephanie Levy is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She studied art at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Arts degrees. After traveling widely in Europe, Stephanie settled in lovely Munich, Germany with her husband and two daughters in 2005. Since moving to Munich, she has become a fan of large preztels and pork prepared in more ways than you can imagine. However, she is still refusing to wear a dirndl. Stephanie's illustrations have been published in various magazines, and her art has been exhibited in galleries and cultural institutions internationally. Her work can be viewed in private and public collections in North America, Australia, Europe, Hong Kong, and Japan. |
| Statement: | |
I create collages and paintings that incorporate a variety of materials, including Japanese origami paper and gold leaf. All works are originals and use handmade paper, canvas, or wood as supports. The main subjects of my work are interior settings. I gather images from all types of sources, from IKEA catalogs to vintage issues of interior design magazines. I like to think of the images I use as "fictional interiors", because most of the photos I use for inspiration depict interiors where no one really lives. Often I am asked why the interior theme occurs so frequently in my work. One of the reasons I am fascinated by these spaces is related to my personal history. My grandfather was a descendent of four generations of Irish carpenters. I grew up in a house he designed and built, and a favorite family activity at night was to sit at the dinner table and draw house plans for imaginary or “fictional” houses. As a child, I thought that this was typical behavior, that everyone’s family drew endless variations of their dream houses. It was only later as an adult that I realized that this was something particular to my upbringing. While the carpenters in my family for generations built actual rooms, as an artist, I now create images of fictional ones. |