I had the honor of getting to work with Stephen Wilson and his team to create four pieces of beautiful artwork for my blogging room.
Stephen Wilson is a conceptual artist whose unique medium carries his message. He has a background in fashion and home design that laid the foundation for Wilson’s embroidery-digitizing mastery and creative expertise. His work is represented by major galleries across the US, including Art Angels, Roman Fine Art, DTR Modern Galleries (NY, Boston, DC, Palm Beach.) His work is frequently exhibited along with his neo-pop / urban art contemporaries i.e. Robert Mars, Mr. Brainwash, Punk Me Tender; and major contemporary / modern / pop artists such as Warhol, Hirst, and Kapoor. His work has been publicly exhibited in diverse locales from the Lincoln Center in New York to Catch Restaurant in Los Angeles.
He blends predominately traditional embroidery techniques with 3D printing, laser engraving, painting and found objects. His manipulation of multiple materials produces wholly unique works of art. His work reflects high fashion influences, traditional craft and quilting of embroidery stitches and take hundreds of hours to create.
Each luxury piece is unique, they all use up-cycled luxury packaging like boxes and bags as well as scarves and ribbons in their creation. Materials for the artwork (the boxes, bags, and scarves) are sourced from all over the world. They’re found on auction sites, estate sales and flea markets. All of the butterflies and other decorative elements are created in his studio.
Before I went in for my first consultation, I told Stephen that my favorite brands for my luxury pieces are Dior, Channel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. I wanted each of these brands incorporated somehow into the artwork. This gorgeous piece made from Gucci materials had my heart the first moment I laid eyes on it. Stephen had just finished creating it and was kind enough to let me take it home with me. This Gucci piece of work would be the focal point and main color inspiration for the rest of my art pieces.
After I was shown around the studio and got a sneak peak at all of their upcoming releases, I was taken to this huge collection of gorgeous scarves. The first step in creating my four letter, 3D L-O-V-E piece was to pick the scarf that I wanted to make up the letters. This honestly was a really hard choice because if you can see in these photos, there were so many beautiful options to select from. I ended up picking this incredible pink scarf that looks designer. Wilson then matched the threading for the letters perfectly with the pink of the scarf I selected.
When you examine one of his pieces closely, you will notice that each is created with thread. Fashion influence is prevalent in his work, expressed through the use of luxury packaging and designer fabrics such as Hermés silk, Chanel wool, Ralph Lauren denim, among others. Through his reinterpretation of textiles and found-object assemblage, Stephen’s work evokes questions regarding luxury consumerism and high – low art distinctions. He is influenced by contemporary art, pop art, street art, graffiti and iconography, as well as traditional quilting and handcrafts.
How each piece is made:
1) Each art piece begins with an up-cycled luxury bag, box, silk scarf, or handbag. Wilson then digitizes a custom design by hand, layering in each embroidered stitch individually. Once the design, colors, and elements are chosen, the piece moves on to assembly.
2) Every box + bag used in the creation process is first deconstructed to become the canvas for the entire piece. Embroidery goes directly through the chosen material and visible texture starts to bring the piece to life.
3) Appliqués, patches, and butterflies are then stitched out individually. They are cut, cleaned, and placed onto each piece creating the finished, unique, one-of-a-kind work of art.
My second time at the Stephen Wilson Art Studio was to finalize my pieces by adding the butterflies. These butterflies are each hand-made one-by-one and they really give the pieces that 3D effect!
Finally, the last step of the entire process is the install. Team members from Stephen’s team come out to your location and hang each piece of work themselves so there is no hassle from you. I swear it took them five minutes max to hang all four of my pieces!!
I want to end this blog post by saying thank you to Stephen Wilson, I will truly cherish these pieces for forever and can’t wait to pass them down to Harper one day. This truly was the most amazing experience and I am just blown away at how gifted Wilson is. On top of being gifted, he is just an overall amazing human being, which can be even harder to find these days.
XOXO,
Katy
What a fun and such a unique experience! I loved reading all about this and living vicariously through you. Thank you for sharing!