Recent work by Stefanie Stark includes “Blueberry Sky”.
In the heady world of gallery art and collection, young upstarts typically create the buzz. After all, it’s their work that spawns endless conversations at cocktail parties about discovery and the relevance of the moment. Native Washingtonian Stefanie Stark (stefaniestarkart.com) is most definitely having a moment, but she’s the first to recognize her journey to success has been unconventional. Beginning her career as a writer, Stark published work regularly in The Washington Post, among other local publications. Twelve years ago, her mother died, and the event triggered a need to express creativity in a different medium. “I can’t explain why I wanted to paint, but the thought of spreading and mixing thick, creamy paint on canvas seemed dreamy,” says Stark, whose work has appeared at Art Palm Beach, Hamptons Virtual Art Fair, Superfine Art Fair DC and local galleries. “In a way, I believe I knew that painting is a visual language of sorts, and one that would allow me to express myself in a new way.”
While Stark’s expressions on canvas primarily employ acrylics, the artist says she sometimes adds other media and materials, such as oil pastel and pencil. Her work also includes mixed-media collages that incorporate paint and paper. I tell Stark her work feels naturalistically abstract. She likes the term. “Or maybe organically abstract. I paint intuitively, from feeling and emotion, rather than realistically from a photo. [I also work] organically, meaning my shapes and marks imperfectly suggest elements of nature. Sometimes I focus on geometric shapes or geometric abstracts, but usually my work involves aspects of nature. A gallery owner who bought one of my pieces told me my purposeful paint drips elevated my work beyond typical floral paintings.”
“Flowers for Meridith”
Stark, whose work can scale large, has had a steady increase in commissions for homes and offices. “Commissions are fun because I get to interact with and get to know my collectors a bit,” she says. “I also love working with interior designers who commission pieces—or select ones I’ve already created—because I get to be a part of their vision for a space. When possible, I visit the home or office to discuss the commission and see the space.”
Finding a muse is never an issue for Stark. “Whenever I’m stuck, I take a walk outside,” she says. “No matter the season or the weather, I find inspiration. It could be in the way the sunlight is filtering through tree leaves, the way bare winter branches intersect one another against a solid sky, or the delicacy of petals before they fall off a bloom.” If one senses artistic pantheism in Stark’s work, it’s not lost on her. “I feel a sense of spirituality through my paintings. I’ve been told my work is ethereal. At times, I feel I’m channeling a higher plane when I’m creating.” Palm Beach Art Show, Feb. 11-16, palmbeachshow.com
Photography by: Courtesy of Stefanie Stark
