Stephens' work, which is often
irreverent, darkly humorous, but, always thought
provoking, has been exhibited in many galleries,
often winning awards, and major museums in the
U.S., Japan, and France. The artist has been a
coastal resident for many years and resides in
Caspar. This is what a few critics have to say
about their artist's work:
"Her work does not soothe, it
seethes; it is satirical, risqué, witty,
menacing, and elegantly macabre, and for some of
you it will be downright disturbing.
"No small part of her skill is
the authority with which she combines and contrasts
garish, vulgar, silly, and absurd items of human
manufacture with the pure elegance and power of
nature...
"There are a lot of mix--media
artists around, and much of their stuff is funny,
outrageous, and wild, but I have seen few who are
so solidly grounded as Stephens in terms of color,
style and composition....when is incomplete,
meticulous control at all times and at all levels.
That and her wicked, intelligent vision set her
worlds apart from the herd." (Eleanor Cooney, North
Coast News, Fort Bragg, CA)
"...whose assemblages are
flavored by romanticism, the 19th century artistic
movement that uses symbols, -- often idealized --
to express the beauty and mystery of life...her
evocative artwork also reveals the whimsical,
dreamlike elements of surrealism and the
distortion, colors and stylized symbols of
expressionism." (Sharri Kaplan, Los Gatos Weekly
Times, Los Gatos, CA)
"Stephens' conglomerations are
dreamlike, eerie, psychologically provocative..."
(Tigerlily Jones, North Coast News, Fort Bragg,
CA)
" A sculpture featuring
dismembered and crucified Barbie dolls on
display....has a local pastor demanding its
removal...considers the sculpture pornographic and
an attack on religion..." (Tobias Young, The Press
Democrat, Santa Rosa, CA)
"...all the pieces of odds and
ends fit together to make a powerful and
provocative social, political, and spiritual
statement...Through the language of her
reconstructions, referencing art history and
mythology, we see a quizzical look at what we hold
valuable and absolute in our society, as well as an
imaginative look at the concepts of spirituality,
death and transcendence." (Susan Canavarro,
Advocate News, Fort Bragg, CA)
NOTE: The following
reviews refer to Stephens' HOMAGE TO ELVIS altar
which was included in an exhibition titled Elvis +
Marilyn:2X Immortal which toured 10 prestigious
museums in the U.S. and continued on to tour Japan
for a year. This piece was featured on the front
page of the New Your Times Entertainment section,
American Airlines in -flight magazine and other
publications. The altar now resides in the art
collection of the House of Blues in their Las Vegas
establishment.
"My favorite piece was Joanne
Stephens' Homage to Elvis. (Greil Marcus, SPEAK
magazine, San Francisco, CA)
"Warhol's Haring's and Christo's
fairly straightforward Elvis and Marilyn
portraits...One favorite with both audiences and
critics is the 7 foot tall
sculpture/assemblage/altar/titled Homage to
Elvis..." (Rick Stentz, Metro Arts, San Jose,
CA)
"My favorite peace is a TV set
with bejeweled altar...to Elvis. Homage to Elvis,
by Joanne Stephens is not satire but true devotion.
The kitschy objects and faux-haroque gilt that make
up the work take on the feel of a holy shrine."
(Rachael Butler, Solon Herald Sun, Cleveland,
Ohio)
"...one peace stopped me cold,
and for a long time: Joanne Stephens' 1991 Homage
to Elvis....The assemblage is beautiful, absurd.
entrancing, its detail obsessive.... the work is
too obsessive to be fake and too received to be
real: it is absolutely contradictory and it makes
no sense. That's what draws you in: Why would
anyone work so long and hard, so lovingly and so
carefully, on a parody?"
Because, the work answers, this
is not a parody, this is a setting. In the
Stephens' piece, the altar contextualizes the heart
of the work just as the exhibit as a whole
contextualizes her piece, by providing a phony
place for a moment of life.
