Stephen Winters
Stephen Winters (b. 1982) is a painter and sculptor based in Bakersfield, California. Living close to the Kern River on Okihi, Winters is interested in our symbiotic relationship with nature. Whether through pastoral, figurative paintings, gestural drawings, or non-objective metal sculptures that suggest the peaks and valleys of a mountain range, his work reflects his passion for the environment. Through each medium, Winters invites us to delve into the profound interconnectedness of all living beings.
Winters received his BFA from the School at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007, where he studied painting and sculpture. While working in Chicago, Winters was an apprentice to sculptor Evan Lewis in 2010 and artist/designer Brian Kerrigan in 2012. In 2009, Winters's work was featured at Lollapalooza. Winters is crucial in leading the White Wolf Wellness Foundation at Okihi. This non-profit organization provides yoga, meditation, sound baths, outdoor recreation, and educational classes for the Bakersfield community. In 2022, Winters was awarded a California Arts Council Grant for a public installation on the property.
Current Exhibitions:
August 29th - October 10th
Gallery RAM, 614 Kentucky St. Bakersfield, CA 93305
+1 661 348 4496
The Animal I Forgot I Was
In collaboration with the White Wolf Wellness Foundation, RAM presents The Animal I Forgot I Was, a new body of work by Stephen Winters exploring the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world through painting, drawing, sound, observation, and lived experience.
The exhibition grows from Winters’ experience living within the riparian ecosystem of California’s Kern River, where daily observation of hawks, honeybees, owls, coyotes, rabbits, trees, water, and countless other forms of life has become a way of understanding the self as one animal among many. As an artist and licensed falconer, Winters brings thousands of hours of close observation of animals to the work, examining the intelligence, instinct, violence, vulnerability, and cooperation that shape both human and
nonhuman life.
“What began as observation gradually became participation—a way of understanding myself as one animal living among many.”
Through graphite drawing, painting, sound, and field observation, The Animal I Forgot I Was considers the boundary between human and nonhuman life and the point where one form begins to become another. Bees merge into swarms, animals disappear into grass, feathers become fields of marks, and trees take on the presence of bodies. Moving between close observation and abstraction, the works allow forms to emerge, dissolve, and reappear.
The exhibition’s monumental drawings further shift the viewer’s sense of scale and perspective. A hawk’s head becomes a landscape, a tree trunk becomes a body, and graphite moves between feather, shadow, atmosphere, and terrain.
At the center of The Animal I Forgot I Was is a larger question of what may have been forgotten by understanding humanity as separate from the rest of nature.
Past Exhibits:
Dreaming of Okihi
Gallery RAM
https://www.galleryram.com/stephenwinters
In Dreaming of Okihi, Winters’ paintings and drawings depict horses, sheep, goats, chickens, and roosters, highlighting their vital role in the Okihi land restoration project. These animals act as intermediaries between humans and the natural world, emphasizing the inherent bond between mankind and nature. Each artwork tells a distinct story about Winters' relationship with this animal family, offering abstract insights into living more intuitively.
Gallery RAM
614 Kentucky Street
Bakersfield, California 93305
Phone: 661-348-4496
info@galleryram.com
Hours:
Thursday - Saturday 11 am - 4 pm
OR BY APPOINTMENT