Elegy (This is my house...), 2004
Elegy (This is my house...), 2004
12-5/8x14-1/2 inches




Elegy (...the one that leads to home...), 2004
Elegy (...the one that leads to home...), 2004
11-1/8x14-3/8 inches




Elegy (Let me live in a house...), 2004
Elegy (Let me live in a house...), 2004
19x8-1/2 inches




Elegy (...and glad to be home...), 2004
Elegy (...and glad to be home...), 2004
21-9/16x17-11/16 inches




Elegy (flowers 1), 2004
Elegy (flowers 1), 2004
12-1/2x37-1/2 inches




Elegy (Bouquet), 2004
Elegy (Bouquet), 2004
10-13/16x23-1/8 inches (diptych)




Elegy (Shade Tree), 2004
Elegy (Shade Tree), 2004
8-5/8x8-5/8 inches




 Stephen Sollins: Domestic Scenes

New York artist Stephen Sollins opens a show of new work, Domestic Scenes, at Brian Gross Fine Art on Thursday, May 5, with a reception for the artist from 5:30-7:30 pm. In this exhibition, Sollins examines the disparity between "high" and "low " art by systematically abstracting sentimental cross-stitched, vintage embroideries.

In his fourth exhibition at Brian Gross Fine Art, Stephen Sollins exhibits "deconstructed" embroideries from his Elegy Series. The series reflects Sollins' ongoing dialogue with emotional response and systematic formulations that are manifested in everyday objects. Sollins transforms secondhand, embroidered linens into Modernist geometric abstractions by re-formatting the original pattern. As Sollins removes the old design, he counts the stitches by color and then proceeds to re-embroider squares in a geometric grid with each colored square consisting of the same number of stitches per color as the original. The dominant color (by quantity) is always placed at the upper right of the grid with the square size descending from right to left. By juxtaposing the new, controlled composition and the eerie, sentimental remains of the original textile design, Sollins eulogizes the anonymous craftsperson while elevating commonplace linens to fine art.

Stephen Sollins received his M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1997 and his B.A. from Bard College in 1990. His work has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions in New York, Louisiana, New Mexico, and California. In 2002, he exhibited his Public Notice series at the Mills College Art Museum. Recently he was a featured participant in Raw Data: Conceptual Art in Louisiana, at the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. In 2004, Sollins exhibited Home Sweet Home, featuring embroidered and removed embroidery works at Mitchell-Innes & Nash in New York.