Background
Stephen Westfall was born in 1953 in Schenectady, New York, United States.
2010
Stephen Westfall in his studio in the American Academy in Rome.
2010
Stephen Westfall in his studio in the American Academy in Rome.
‘Cullowhee’ by Stephen Westfall purchased at Wright auction for $15,600 in 2019.
University of Califonia, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, United States
The campus of the University of Califonia, Santa Barbara where Stephen Westfall received a Bachelor and a Master of Arts degrees.
Stephen Westfall in the Art, Design and Architecture Museum’s Nachman Gallery.
artist critic educator painter
Stephen Westfall was born in 1953 in Schenectady, New York, United States.
Stephen Westfall studied at the University of California where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975. It was followed by a Master of Fine Arts three years later.
Stephen Westfall emerged to the art scene in the early 1980s. The first solo exhibition of his works took place at Tracey Garet in New York City’s East Village in 1984. Positive reviews in Art in America and Artnews contributed somehow to his popularity. Since then, Westfall has shown his art internationally, including Germany, Switzerland, and France.
In 1997, he began collaboration with Lennon Weinberg Gallery, New York City which represents his art until now. He is represented by art spaces in Switzerland, Germany, and France as well.
The walls at Rutgers University, the McNay Art Museum and MTA 30th Avenue Station are decorated by Westfall art.
In addition to his artistic career, Stephen Westfall has tried his hand in academics. He has held various teaching positions at the San Francisco Art Institute, Colgate University, and Rutgers University. Westfall is a professor at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and in the graduate program at Bard College. His articles have been published in Vogue, The New York Times, Arts, Art News, the Partisan Review, The New Criterion, Bomb Magazine, and The Brooklyn Rail.
Nowadays, the painter lives and works in New York City. He serves as a Contributing Editor at Art in America.
Quotations: "I think a lot about the relationship between painting and architecture. I would like my paintings to be regarded as expressions of energy and place."
Stephen Westfall describes himself as a "poppish, post-minimalist geometric painter."
As an adolescent, Westfall was fascinated by the architecture of Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, and Luis Barragan who used color as one of the instruments in their projects. He also appreciated the American abstract painting of the 1960s. The works of Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, and Josef Albers played an important role in his formation as an artist.