As a multi-media artist I often use humor as a device to bring attention to more critical issues. By creating humorous objects I find that it breaks down barriers and allows for the beginning of an open and genuine dialogue between my art, the audience and myself. Issues that remain constant in my work are an exploration of mental and physical health, themes of healing, comfort and self-preservation.
I naturally gravitate towards materials and processes that I feel best address my conceptual concerns. Mattress quilting can suggest ideas related to birth, death, intimacy, relationships, illness and rest. Coupled with words or phrases which often have multiple meanings such as “please”, the quilted fabric is meant to bring a humorous yet poignant conceptual message to the viewer. I also use vinyl in my sculptural relief work for its physical properties as well as for its inherent references to mental and physical health and protection. I construct these pieces with my industrial sewing machine as well as a combination of hand sewing, stuffing and stapling. My work often addresses psychological themes while exploring the relationship between humor and personal therapies.
Born 1969
New Orleans, LA
Education
1996, M.F.A., Photography, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1993, B.F.A., Painting, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Additional Study
2000-2001
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, New York, NY
2000
Gotham Writer’s Workshop, New York, NY
The New School, New York, NY
1998
Artist in the Marketplace Program, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY
Solo Exhibitions
2022
(To Be Announced), Arther Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2021
Soft Landing, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY
Stephanie Patton: Comfort Zone 1993 – 2021, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA
2017
Sensitivity Training, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2016
pause, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2015
Synthetic Happiness, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
2014
Level, McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX
2013
Private Practice, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2012
Upkeep, The Front, New Orleans, LA
2011
General Hospital, The Front, New Orleans, LA
2010
Diffuse, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Relocation Beige, The Front, New Orleans, LA
2008
Equipped, Louisiana ArtWorks, New Orleans, LA (in conjunction with Prospect.1)
Stephanie Patton Recent Work, The Front, New Orleans, LA (in conjunction with Prospect.1)
Equipped, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA
2005
Renella Rose Champagne, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA
2004
Sur Mesure, Galerie Patricia Dorfmann, Paris, France
Custom-built, Architects and Artists Gallery, Lafayette, LA
2003
Renella Rose Champagne, LOVE, Galerie Lafayette, Lafayette, LA
1997
Renella’s Lingerie Showroom, Artist Alliance Gallery, Lafayette, LA
Selected Group Exhibitions & Screenings
2021
KICKSTART- A Group Show, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY
Slammed!! Sensationalism and Culture in the Squared Circle, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA, Curators- Jaik Faulk, Benjamin Hickey
2020
Robert Indiana: A Legacy of Love, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX, Curators- René Paul Barilleaux, Alexis T. Meldrum, Lauren Thompson, Edward Hayes
Going Through a Phrase, Galveston Art Center, Galveston, TX, Curator- Dennis Nance
Art in the Time of Empathy, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA
JOIN, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY (2-person exhibition with Katy Ferrarone)
Start Somewhere, Voltz Clarke Gallery X Penske Projects, New York, NY
2019
South Arts 2019 Southern Prize and State Fellows, The Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA
South Arts 2019 Southern Prize and State Fellows, 701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia, SC
2018
Art Miami, Arthur Roger Gallery, The Art Miami Pavilion, Miami, FL
2017
Pride of Place: The Making of Contemporary Art in New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
SEAMS, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY (2-person exhibition with Jacinto Moros)
Fabricated, Cornell Art Museum, Delray Beach, FL, Curator – Melanie Johanson
Art for Art’s Sake: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, The Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA, Curator – Billie Milam Weisman
2016
Handle with Care, Gensler Architecture Firm, Houston, TX
2015
Art Miami, Arthur Roger Gallery, The Art Miami Pavilion, Miami, FL
SCOPE, Elizabeth Houston Gallery, SCOPE Miami Beach Pavilion, Miami, FL
Seven, Elizabeth Houston Gallery, New York, NY
Reverb: Past / Present / Future, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA, Curator – Isolde Brielmaier
Sure Shot, MASS Art, Austin, TX
2014
Trivial Pursuits: Obsession’s Allure, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA, Curators – Brian Guidry, Mary Beyt – Prospect.3 + Lafayette
Back to The Front, The Front, New Orleans, LA (in conjunction with Prospect.3)
The Front @ Art Lab, Art Lab AKIBA and Makii Masaru Fine Art, Tokyo, Japan
Face Time, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA, Curators – Brian Guidry, Mary Beyt
2013
Art for Art’s Sake, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
Are We One? exhibition by The Front Artist Collective, Biggin Gallery, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
The Front: Union, Justice, Confidence – Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
1000 Words, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA, Curators – Brian Guidry, Mary Beyt
2012
Spaces: Antenna, The Front, Good Children Gallery, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA, Curator – Amy Mackie, Director of Visual Arts with Angela Berry, Visual Arts Coordinator
2011
2011 southXeast: Contemporary Southeastern Art Exhibition, “Renella Rose Champagne, Through the Years”, University Galleries, Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Boca Raton, Florida, Curator – Rod Faulds
2010
currents 2010, El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM (in conjunction with SITE Santa Fe), Jurors – Mariannah Amster and Frank Ragano
Masur Museum of Art 47th Annual Juried Competition, Monroe, LA, Juror – David Houston
Southern Open 2010, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA, Juror – Bill Arning
Moving Vehicles, Centre for the Living Arts, Mobile, AL, Curator – Mia Kaplan
2009
Things Fall Apart, Winkleman Gallery, New York, NY, Curator – Joy Garnett
2008
Southern Open 2008, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA, Juror – Peter Frank
2005
Artistes a` la page, Galerie Patricia Dorfmann, Paris, France
Spirit of Place – Art From Acadiana, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA, Curator – David Houston
Nouveaux Artistes d’Acadiana, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2004
Open for Interpretation, Acadiana Center For The Arts, Lafayette, LA, Curator – David Houston
Grotto II, Jessica Murray Projects, New York, NY
2003
Fresh Faces, Fresh Spaces, Architects and Artists Gallery, Lafayette, LA
2002
Grotto, Jessica Murray Projects, Brooklyn, NY
About Face, Jessica Murray Projects, Brooklyn, NY
2001
Art in General Third Annual 12 to 12 Film and Video Marathon, Art in General, New York, NY
2000
The Date With Elvis, (audio installation in elevator), Art in General, New York, NY
CowParade New York 2000, New York City Public Arts Project, New York, NY
Good Business is the Best Art, Twenty Years of the Artist in the Marketplace Program, The Bronx Museum, Bronx, NY
1995
Face Forward: Self-Portraiture in Contemporary Art, John Micheal Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
Tarazona Foto 1995, Tarazona, Spain
Selected Press/Publications
2021
Country Roads, “”Comfort Zone” Multimedia Artist Stephanie Patton Is Just Getting Started,” by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot, August 2021
Art E-Walk, “Meet the Artist at the AcA,” by Sylvie Contiguglia, July 5, 2021
The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA, “Comfort Zones,” by Victoria Dodge, June 10, 2021
2019
The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC, “Gibbes Museum Announces 1858 Prize Finalists”, by Adam Parker, November 22, 2019
1stdibs 50/2019, New York, NY, Published Image with Wesley Moon Inc., page 7
Country Roads, “Curator’s Choice, Regional Museum Curators Weigh in on Up-and-Coming Louisiana Artists”, by Jordan Lahaye, October 24, 2019
The Post and Courier, Free Times, Columbia, SC, “South Arts Fellows Prove the Modern Vitality of the Region’s Visual Works, A Dessert No More”, (review), Tom Mack, April 24,2019
2015
The New York Times, “Ten Years After Katrina, New Orleans Museums Reckon With Recovery”, by Cameron Shaw, August 19, 2015 (online), August 23, 2015 (printed edition)
The New Orleans Advocate, “At the CAC, past, present and a bit of the future of post-Katrina art”, by John D’Addario, August 26, 2015
Overture Magazine, “Interview”, interview conducted by John Guidry, Lafayette, LA, January edition
2013
OtherPeoplesPixels Blog, “OtherPeoplesPixels interviews Stephanie Patton”, interview conducted by Stacia Yeapanis, Chicago, IL, December 26, 2013 – January 2, 2014
New American Paintings, publisher: Open Studio Press, Boston, MA, Juror – Miranda Lash
louisianaesthetic.com: “Pattern Recognition: Stephanie Patton and Troy Dugas at Arthur Roger Gallery”, (review), Reggie Rodrigue, April 10, 2013
Gambit: “New Work by Monica Zeringue and Stephanie Patton”, (review), D. Eric Bookhardt, April 9, 2013
Art E-Walk: “Pain, Healing, Relics, – Review of Troy Dugas and Stephanie Patton March 2013 Exhibitions”, Sylvie Contiguglia, March 6, 2013
2012
ARTFORUM, “Spaces: Antenna, The Front, Good Children Gallery”, (review), Nick Stillman, May 2012
Oxford American, “THE ONLY STAIR THAT DOESN’T CREEK: The Southern Open” (review), Reggie Rodrigue, June 19, 2012
The Times–Picayune, Living, photographer – Steven Forster, January 29, 2012
2011
Pelican Bomb, Reggie Rodrigue, (review), New Orleans, LA, November 4, 2011–current
Lacouture Lagniappe, featured guest with host Marce Lacouture, Radio Interview, KRVS, Lafayette, LA
2010
Bill Sasser, Art Voices, “The Front Takes St. Claude”, published image, Issue 23/2010, page 13
Southern Open 2010, Catalog, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Juror – Bill Arning
2008
Southern Open 2008, Catalog, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Juror – Peter Frank
2007
The Times of Acadiana, “The Art Issue”, Lafayette, LA, November 7, 2007
Southern Open 2007, Catalog, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Juror – Dr. Jerry Cullum
Studio Visit Magazine, publisher: Open Studio Press, Boston, MA
2005
Doug MacCash, “Small Touches of Acadiana”, Times Picayune, New Orleans, LA
Eric Bookhardt, “Cajuns for all Occasions”, Gambit Weekly, February 15, 2005, New Orleans, LA
2003
Niki Lederer and Hannes Priesch, Death in the Studio, one of 61 featured artists in book, pages 110-111, Niki Lederer and Hannes Priesch (photography and text)
2002
Walter Pierce, “This Champagne Is Great Going Down”, music review in “24/7”, The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA, April 19, 2002
2000
Thomas Craughwell (text), Cow Parade New York, book, published image
Cow Parade New York Calendar-2001, published image (December)
1998
Walter Pierce, “A Natural Place Where I’m Headed”, featured artist in the Entertainment section of The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA, October 18, 1998
Holland Cotter, “One Museum, Five Shows, and a Million Lives and Passions”, The New York Times, August 14, 1998
Artist in the Marketplace Program, Catalog, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY
Maureen Sherlock, FACE FORWARD: Self–Portraiture in Contemporary Art, Imprint: John Michael Kohler Arts Center, ISBN: 0932718396
1995
Michelle Grabner, New Art Examiner, Review, Published Image, page 42, December 1995
Video interview for exhibition “Face Forward”, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
John Michael Kohler Art Center, July-August, Calendar of Events, Published Image, Sheboygan, WI
Awards & Honors
2019
Finalist for the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art, The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC South Arts Louisiana Fellowship Recipient
2017
The Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Emergency Grant
Joan Mitchell Foundation, Emergency Grant
Acadiana Center for the Arts, Creative Relief Grant
2014
Dave Bown Projects – 8th Semiannual Competition (Curators: Cindy Buckner, Al Miner, Margot Norton) Honorable Mention
2012
Louisiana Division of the Arts, Career Advancement Grant
2009
Louisiana Division of the Arts, Career Advancement Grant
Santa Fe Art Institute, full scholarship
2007 & 2006
Vermont Studio Center, partial fellow recipient
2004 & 2003
DRAMARAMA, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA, honorarium
2000
Art in General, New York, NY, honorarium
BCAT/Brooklyn Community Access Television/Rotunda Gallery artists’ residency, Brooklyn, NY, honorarium
1994-1996
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Merit Scholarship
1996
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Student Fellowship, honorable mention
Weinstein Memorial Scholarship, Chicago, IL
1995
Roth “Artist in the Landscape” Scholarship, The School of the Art Institute Of Chicago
John Michael Kohler Art Center Honorarium, Sheboygan, WI
Artist Residencies
2019, Joan Mitchell Center Artist-In-Residence, New Orleans, LA, June-July, Sculpture, Multimedia
2009, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM, June-July, Sculpture
2007, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, July-August, Sculpture
2006, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, July-August, Sculpture
1999, BCAT/Brooklyn Community Access Television, technical residency participant in non-linear video editing Brooklyn, NY
Visiting Artist Lectures
2022, Visiting Artist, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA
2019, Creative Conversations, Hilliard University Art Museum, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA (with Gus Bennett, Jaik Faulk, Ben Hickey)
2017, Visiting Artist, University of West Florida (UWF), Pensacola, FL
2016, Visiting Artist, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
2015, Visiting Artist, University of Houston (UH), Houston, TX
2013, Visiting Artist, University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), Lafayette, LA
2011, Visiting Artist, Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Boca Raton, FL
2010, Visiting Artist, University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), Lafayette, LA
2006, Art Speak, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
2005, How to Raise a Southern Artist, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA (with Elmore Morgan Jr., Ralph Bourque, Troy Dugas)
Collections
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
Embassy Suites by Hilton New York-Midtown Manhattan, New York, NY
Additional private collections
