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Stephen Von Mason
USA
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“I have so much respect for art history so as I come through it sometimes, I also want to be a continuum of it that is always connected to it as I push my ideas.”
Stephen Von Mason was born in South Bend, Indiana in 1954. As a child he loved to draw and paint rodeo riders and football stars which carried over into High School. Even as a young man he knew he always wanted to be a professional artist so at the end High School he was accepted into John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis where he received a BFA in printmaking.
Essential | Oil
$5,000
48 X 60
This painting is the 1st piece in a nine painting series titled: -"Something All Our Own: The Creation of a Fine Arts Museum".....this Museum is an imaginary Museum that I desire to be built and to house a diversified collection to put the African America Arts Community on the global artistic map. The name of this Museum is - The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Art". The name is in honor of Reginal F. Lewis, the first Black Wall Street Billionaire. The other 8 pieces are people visiting the Museum
Stephen understood that he probably needed more education, so he applied to the San Francisco Institute of Art and was accepted with a scholarship. The Art Institute was a wonderful place to go to school because they had the best visiting artist program ever.
Continuum | Oil
$5,000
48 X 36
This painting is showcasing the continued violence that Black people live under in America where we cannot keep our leaders and as a community we internalize this violence and continue to implement the same tactics on each other. Nipsey Hussle, Malcolm X and Tupac Shakur are having a conference inside my Museum while viewing a Francis Bacon and Kerry James Marshall exhibit.
Mason attended the institute from 1977 to 1979 and they had incredible visiting artists like Robert Raushenburg, Jasper Johns, David Hockney, and Merce Cunningham all at the same time. They also had a very famous teacher there teaching women studies named Angela Davis. This was all so very impactful for him and it helped mold him into the artist he is today.
“I'm striving to make art that creates a response and evokes a challenge that is desperately needed.”
While still living in San Francisco, Stephen graduated from the SF Art Institute with an MFA major in printmaking, and he minored in painting. When he got out of grad school, he didn't want to print anymore so he started painting immediately because it was so much more direct than pulling prints to make etchings.
Ida: A Sword Among Lions | Oil
NFS
60 X 72
Ida B. Wells was once described by Frederick Douglass as our manhood. In this painting she is rescuing 3 Black men from being lynched and burned alive. She single handedly slowed down lynching by appealing to England to implement sanctions on the U.S by stopping the buying of cotton. This homage to her is very important to me because she is one of my patron Saints.
In this painting a beautiful Black couple is visiting my Museum to view a very diversified permanent collection.
Museum Visit | Oil
$5,000
48 X 36
It was exciting times in the 1980's and he started on his journey of exhibiting, being published in newspapers and magazines and he also have 3 children’s books published. One is all his illustrations and the other two are collaboratives. His solo book is a folklore piece titled "Brother Anansi and the Cattle Ranch" from the Ashanti tribe of West Africa. As he continued exhibiting and traveling to Europe to exhibit in England, he always maintained employment. He worked as an artisan in Museums and Galleries so that he had a steady stream of income.
“My figurative paintings attempt to push specific scenarios through subject matter that is provocative and sometimes uncomfortable, the act of painting for me is about problem solving, showcasing, storytelling, and beauty.”
“Equity and equality are a very important component in my community, so I am always speaking to these elements and dynamic.”
Eventually, Stephen transitioned into education and became an eighth-grade middle school art teacher until he retired 2 years ago. In 2012, he was invited by President Barack Obama to showcase his art department at the Presidents Committee of the Arts and Humanities headed up by Michelle Obama. That was quite the honor for him as he spoke right after the actress Alfre Woodard.
Eminent: Ode to Isaac Murphy | Oil
$6,500
48 X 60
This painting is an homage to one of the greatest jockeys that ever lived. Isaac Murphy won 3 Kentucky Derby's right out of slavery and amassed much wealth in his lifetime. He went on to have the best winning percent of any jockey that has never been broken to this day.
Stephen has a strong connection with sculpture, architecture, and structural engineering as much as he is connected to painters like Kerry James Marshall, Oliver Lee Jackson, and Sandro Chia. Because he is an untold storyteller and history painter, there is a strong need to produce paintings that reflect his passion. This will always be the case because it is what moves him. Like in the film “Sankofa” it is imperative that he continue to pursue his purpose because the ancestors need to know that he is continuing this mission.
Contemplation | Oil
$5,000
48 X 36
This painting is an homage to the late and great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. I felt Kobe was a legend in his own time and I wanted to honor him. In the image Kobe and his daughter are inside my museum enjoying a Raymond Saunders and Mark Rothko exhibit.
Stephen has always sort of had a three-prong artistic existence as an artist, and artisan and an educator. All three professions kept him very busy his entire life and he enjoyed every bit of it. Another part of his career that he strives on is international competitions, he loves to compete to give him some kind of gauge as to where he stands up in the world of art.
In this painting Barack Obama graces my Museum to view an exhibition of Amy Sherald and Alex Katz. I am taking stock of the impact Barack had on this country when he was President and also acknowledging the power and impact Michelle Obama still has on the current status and future of this country.
Marking the Past, Shaping the Future | Oil
$5,000
36 X 48
“My stylized work revolves around showcasing excellence and promoting a cultural healing.”
Architect of the Principles | Oil
$5,000
36 X 48
In this painting, Boston patriot Samuel Adams pays a visit to my Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Art to take in a Kara Walker installation along with Jonathan Borofsky sculptures. He is reflecting on the hypocrisy of the Constitution that did not include terrorized African Americans.
Recently, Stephen has been competing a lot and have received four awards to show for it. This gives him confidence to stay in the studio and continue painting to the best of his abilities.
This painting is part of a new series titled "Cultural Healing". Inside the imagery people are starting to file into an outdoor concert trying to enjoy nature and take in some good music. But there is one problem, two females have showed up indecently exposed and a black couple is having a problem with it. Issues that the Black community is dealing with today in this new broken nuclear family era.
A Familiar Sound | Oil
$5,000
60 X 72
Stephen currently lives in Vallejo, California the greater San Francisco Bay Area where his home and studio is. He paints in oils on large six-foot canvases mixed in with some smaller ones. He showcases and celebrate his culture with an edge because of the need for a Cultural Healing. This is something he is very passionate about and put his heart and soul into each painting to express his vision.
Giants Among Us | Oil
$8,000
60 X 72
This painting is also part of my new series titled "Cultural Healing". I am showcasing Black Excellence and Black Love while placing our un-natural existence in America back into nature. One of my pet peeves my entire adult life is that America never allowed me or Black people in general to be or feel natural. I still strive for this feeling or existence to this day.
“My imagery has intense color and a sense of emergency indicative of what is needed for rebuilding a cultural lobotomy.”
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