Stephen Antonson
Plaster and stucco worker
New York, NY, USA
Rasp and file
- Stephen is a plaster sculptor specialising in lighting, mirrors, furniture and wall reliefs
- He first studied painting and sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University in the USA
- His 2007 Architectural Digest feature marked his debut as a 'plaster master'
For many years, Stephen Antonson exhibited paintings and sculptures in New York galleries. "It was a very solitary world, that was hard to survive in,” he shares. Between shows of his personal work, Stephen built sets for magazine shoots and furniture for Wes Anderson, created paint finishes and installations for Ralph Lauren, and developed a deep knowledge of antiques in the process. In 1999, Stephen met Thomas Donahue, the renowned plaster artist in New York, who had trained with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's plaster mould maker and conservator. From this time onwards, Stephen was able to practise his craft as a plaster artist and evolve his creative language on his own terms. Today, he works from Brooklyn in what is his twelfth studio in New York.
INTERVIEW
There is a corner of my studio where I make prototypes, iterations of pieces, and where I dream up new things. Although there is not a set way for me to work, I usually start with a drawing, then move to modelling it in clay or sometimes paper. The real sculpting happens with my rasp and file.
I believe you have to know a material’s history to create something different with it. I go to museums all the time, look at fine and applied art collections. I love the V&A’s Cast Courts, but I am always careful not to drift too close to what came before, at the risk of disappearing into it.
Plaster is a material unencumbered. The tools it requires are limited, and unlike oil painting or goldsmithing, there is no concern for material cost or scarcity to hold me back. I can dream anything up and just try it, adding and removing as I go. It has taught me the freedom to create out of nothing.
I never want to feel like I have 'arrived', as this equates to becoming complacent, to me. There is something about being uncomfortable that fosters creativity. There has to be a struggle, and that is what I am after. I am about to enter my sixties and feel like I am just getting started!
Stephen Antonson
Plaster and stucco worker
New York, NY, USA
ADDRESS
Address upon request, New York, NY, USA
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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