Bio
Stephen Anderson was born and raised in Southern California
Stephens creativity sprouted early in his life as he made his own toys out of pipe-cleaners, Styrofoam balls, pant and a mix of fabric and found objects.
Early artistic influence included his Grandma who painted as a hobby. And during his last year at CSULB his fine art painting instructor who encouraged to paint from the heart, and less from the mind. Advice which proved cathartic as to pour the emotional turmoil of the end of a long term relationship with his first girlfriend who he met during high school.
After received his BFA from California University Long Beach, and feeling, ‘now what to do with an art degree? He sought out local artist groups: First becoming a member and a past president of Southern California Artists (SCA), and later applied and was approved to join the artist run non-profit gallery the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA). Which he visited during college as a class field trip, and the experience stuck in his mind as a ‘cool’ place to one day belong to. These organizations allowed him to network with fellow artists and become part of the art community. Leading to develop his artwork and exhibit domestically and internationally.
Now as the executive director for OCCCA the past 4 years, he has raised the quality, knowledge and prestige of the center, opening it up to community collaborations and events, along with art exhibitions and musical events including the annual ‘Santa Ana Noise Fest’ featuring experimental and noise genre performers, now in its 6th year. This musical event has lead him to created his own experimental noise project under the name: Jesus is Dead. The title coming from an element of a large neon and text based multi-video installation, titled “ Distilled Truths’. He has performed at several venues and noise festivals.
While art making and the art community is a large part of Stephens life, one has to pay the bills, and that is done (as with most artists) with a day job, of which he is currently in transition (any leads will be appreciated!) along with taking freelance graphic and website design projects.
Juggling all of the above keeps Stephen busy with hopes that his artwork will be seen in major museums and galleries, and getting his ‘15 minutes of fame.’
Artist CV
PUBLICATIONS:
2014 ‘Happy Medium’ Says to Smile Now, Cry Later, By Dave Barton. OC Weekly June 19, 2014
2013 Home Grown Gallery Tackles Global Monetary Issues, Huffington Post, by Liz Goldner Feb 12th, 2013 2013 Honorable Mention: Artist Portfolio Magazine, Anniverary II, 2013
2013 1850 Magazine, Feb 2013 issue 2, pg 13
2011 City Pages – A-List, Hope of the Union
2010 Featured in LA Art Diary
2010 OCCCA Has Daddy Issues ‘Father Material’ mostly offers surreal, thought-provoking insights
into maleness. Mostly By Dave Barton, Orange County Weekly. Thursday, Feb 18 2010
2008 It’s Alive! Weird Science at Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art,
by Greg Stacy, Orange County Weekly. November 20
2008 A Politic, Artscope magazine. July pgs 22-23
2008 Tiime Warner Cable Interview
2008 Orange Coast Magazine: February
2007 A Brave World of New Media and Mixed-Media Art, OC Register, Sat, Aug 25
2007 OC Home Magazine, July Pgs 28-31
2006 Put It All Together, by Roanna Forman Review Courtesy of the Malden Muse May/June issue, 2006 2006 .ism quarterly. Feb 06
2005 LOVE SMALL at artSPACE@16 – [SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL] – art review by Roanna Forman for the Malden
Muse online arts journal, Nov 11, 2005
2005 Riveria Magazine. Sept 2005 pg 88-90. Image pg 90
2005 Artists co-op marches with a winner, OC Register, Sun, May 15
2004 Quite the Characters. Metroland vol 28 no 3. By David Brickman
2004 Cover: Original Sin: The Seven Deadlies Come Home to Roost. The Paper Journey Press 2004 Direct Art Magazine Volume 10
2004 The Fine Art of Controversy, The OC Register, Sat April 3 pg1, 4
2002 Cannibal Flower Power: Two Years and Growing, NoHoLA, August 29, vol 4, issue 24 2002 Art Heals, Art Works, at the PVAC, The Aesthetic, No. 11
2002 Art Heals, Art Works, 30 page Full color catalogue
2002 Art Heals, Art Works, Art week. Dec 2001-Jan 2002 page 6
2001 Scene / Unseen, 37 page B&W catalogue
2001 The Los Angeles Times. Thursday August 16, Calendar section, pg 4
2001 Art Explores Violence at Second City Council, Downtown Gazette. March 5, Vol 14, No. 10. Pg 8 2000 OCCCA’s Extreme is a Sensation!, OC Weekly. November 10-16
1998 The Los Angeles Times. Sunday December 6, Calendar section, pg 64
1998 ArtScene, January, Vol. 17, No. 5. Pg 18
1997 Deming Show Features Thought Provoking Art, Las Cruces Sun News, February 15 1994 Encyclopedia of Living Artists, 9th Edition
1992 The Long Beach Union, November 9, Vol XXXI, No. 11. Pg 1
ASSOCIATIONS:
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA) 1994-current Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) 1998-2005
Southern California Artists (SCA) 1997-2006
EDUCATION:
1997 Pre-press/Digital Output, extension course, California State University Fullerton
1996 Certificate Program: Computer Graphic Design Specialization in Digital Imaging, UCES, CSULB 1993 B.F.A., Drawing and Painting/Intermedia, California State University, Long Beach, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2014 Pulp Art, Hale Art Space, Santa Monica, CA Oct 17- 29, 2014
The Art of Stem Cells, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Sept 6-Oct 9th
MAP Collective, John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, CA. August 15-September 19th
Happy Medium, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana CA. May 29- June 28th 2014 Spectrum-Gestalt. bG Gallery at Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA. March 22-April 8 2014 Collage Now, display / Orange County Fine Art Storage. Anaheim, CA 92805 – January-May 2014
2013 MEME Democracy – meme themed art show, Illuminoidal Arts, Long Beach, CA.
The Search, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana CA. Dec 7th, 2013-January 11th 2014 Exhibition no.1: an introduction,112 B Kirk Avenue, Roanoke, Virginia. June 20- 2013
MAKING/working, Coastline Community College Art Gallery, Newport Beach, CA. April 3-27th 2013
2012 Capitol Crime$, BC Space Laguna Beach, CA. October 6 – March 26th 2013
Text Message: The Alchemy of Text Based Art, Bleichner LA Brea, Los Angeles, CA. Aug 18 – Sept 10
Spirit of Democracy, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art ,Santa Ana, CA. Aug 4-18
Featured Artist at the OC Fair, Visual Arts Gallery – Building 14, Costa Mesa, CA. July 13-August 12
Neon and the American Road, National Hot Rod Museum, Pomona Fairgrounds, CA. May 2-December
Artists’ Tower of Protest, Organized by LA><ART and the Getty Research Institute for the Pacific Standard Time –
Performance and Public Art Festival. Curated by Cesar Garcia, LA><ART Senior Curator Patterns Seasons Uprisings, SCA Project Gallery. Pomona, CA. Jan 14th-Feb 20th
2011 Great 948, Great Park Arts Event. Irvine, CA. September 24-November 23rd
Flag Stop: an alternative contemporary art event, Torrance, CA. September 2-4th
Reconstructive Visions of the Future, VALISE Gallery, Vashon, WA. September 2 – 25th
Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA. August 1-25th
Hope of the Union, Altered Esthetics, 1224 Quincy Street NE. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Decay in Wonderland, The ARTery Gallery @TheLAB. Costa Mesa, CA. June 18th-July 3rd
FONLAD 07 Wind Rose Culture Space, Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, June 11
Container Space, George Mason University, Fairfax, Washington D.C, April 20
Festival Internacional de la Imagen, Manizales Caldas, Colombia, April 13-15
MONA@30, California State University Channel Islands, Napa Hall Art Complex, Camarillo, CA. March 3-April 8th Keep Life Simple, Bleicher/Golightly, Santa Monica, CA. February 17th – March 3rd
MONA@30, The Museum of Neon Art, Los Angeles, CA. February 17th – June 30th
Sketchbook Project 2011, Art House Co-op, The Brooklyn Art Library Permanent Collection, NY.
144, Blue Five Art Space, Los Angeles, CA. January 8th – 30th
2010 30th Anniversary Exhibition, OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA. October 14 – November 27th
LIT – (Techno-kinetic & Light-based Art), Bleicher/Golightly, Santa Monica, CA. September 25th-Oct 14th Zest for Art, 1st show invitational, Gallery Rheeway, Los Angeles, CA. September 24th – October 30th After Hours, Galeria Z, Bratislava, Slovakia. September
Turned On, Bleicher/Golightly, Santa Monica, CA. July 9th – 23rd
Next IDentity, Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdazsk, Poland May 6th
Iconoclassic, Bleicher/Golightly, Santa Monica, CA. February 11th-24th
Father Material, OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA. February 5th-27th
2009 LightGiest, The Museum of Neon Art, Los Angeles, CA. November 12th, 2009 through May 16th, 2010.
Borders+Segments, International Experimental Film Festival, Florean Museum, Baia Mare, Romania, Nov 13-14 James Gray Gallery, Bergamot Station Art Center, Santa Monica, CA. Sept 12th – Oct 3rd
Small Works Big Idea, APW Gallery, Long Island City, NY. September 4th – 13th
Digital Art LA, LACDA, Los Angeles, CA. August 13th – 15th, 2009
Open Call LA 2009, LA Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. August 13th – Sept 27th
The Canvas Project vol.2, Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA. July 31st -Sept 4th
The Art of Imaging, OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA. February 5th – 27th
Birth of A New Freedom, Curator Maria Elena Cruz. Lucy Florence Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Jan 17th – Feb 17th
2008 Amusings, Hauntings, Wantings, OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA November 1st – 29th
Just How Does A Patriot Act? Group Art Exhibition Curator Joella March, OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA Oct 4th – 26th Invite Show, Bunny Gunner, Pomona, CA July 12
$2 Show, i-5 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA July 11
a Politic, Gallery XIV, Boston, MA, July 2 – August 16
“Hello, My Name Is”, ISM: Gallery, Long Beach, CA. January 26th – Feb 26th
2007 The Art of Sacrifice, Altered Esthetics, Minneapolis, MN. Sept 6 – 27 Project, Another Roadside Attraction, London, UK July 18
The Voyeur Show, The Core, Portland, Oregon. June 7th Sideshow, Electric Lodge, Venice, CA. June 3 – Sept 23
Artifornia, Sciorum Gallery, Milan, Italy, May 14 – June 14
Narratology: Winterfest 07, The Miles Memorial Playhouse, Santa Monica, CA
2006 Too Much Freedom? LA Freewaves 10th Celebration of Experimental Media Arts, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA. Nov 3-4 What Not to Say at the Dinner Table (The Four Doors To The Apocalypse) OCCCA Santa Ana, CA. July 1-30 Configurations, artSPACE@16, Malden, MA. May 13 – July 10
Food Without Faces, Humanitaire @ The Camp, Costa Mesa, CA. May 4 – June 1
2005 Love Small, artSPACE@16, Malden, MA. Juror: Adria Arch. Oct 22 – Nov 19 Abstraction and Concept!, Inferno Gallery, Oakland, CA. Oct 14 – Nov 10 Mixed Bag, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA. Juror: Kimberly Light. June 5 – July 22 Dark Sushi, Brewery Art Colony, Los Angeles, CA.
All I Want Is To Be A Happy Man, OCCCA Santa Ana, CA. May 4 – 29
Crushed Crushes, Arc Gallery Chicago, Illinois. Kristina Gosh, curator. Feb 2 – 26
2004 By Any Means UnNecessary, Mission 17 Gallery, San Francisco, Ca. Dec 16 – Jan 15
Visual-Text: The Other, Fulton Street Gallery Troy, NY. Juor: Kevin Thayer. Dec 15-Jan 29
Mean Times…Back At Home, BC Space Laguna Beach, CA. Set 27-Nov 28
Homeland Security, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA. Juror: Sandra Low, Center for the Study of Political Graphics. Aug 28-Sept 24 In America Now, Dan O’Melveny Gallery.West Hollywood, CA. Juror: Peter Frank July 29-Aug 12
Landscape Gestures: Mind, Place and Environment, OCCCA Santa Ana, CA. June 2-27
White Planes, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA. Juror: Michelle Isenberg, Fine Arts Advisor. April 10 – May 7
2003 [seven-degrees]: Laguna Beach, CA. Juried by Irene Hofmann. Oct 2-Nov 2
Art of the LA Metro, Clarion Gallery, University of Pennsylvania. Clarion, PA. Sept 8-Oct 10 Fact or Fiction, Wells Fargo Bank, Laguna Beach, CA. Sept 6-29
Hearts on Ice, Calafia Gallery, Santa Ana, CA. Feb 4–28
2002 2nd year anniversary, Cannibal Flower,Los Angeles, CA. Featured Artist. Aug 17
Art Heals, Art Works, Fullerton Museum Center, Fullerton, CA. Janice DeLoof Curator. Aug. 4-Sept 22
Living & Dying, The Second City Council, Long Beach, California, Juror; Michael Darling, MOCA. April 26-June 7 336 works from the Burned Fingers Series of 1,000, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA. April 16 – May 3
Art Heals, Art Works, Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Janice DeLoof Curator. Jan 25-March 24
2001 Scene / Unseen, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM. Juror: Larry Giacoletti, Guggenheim Museum. Nov 6-Dec 2 Beefcake, Cheesecake; Sex, Flesh, Money, Dreams, OCCCA. Santa Ana, CA. Juror: Tyler Stallings. Sept 1-30 Crutch, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art. Santa Ana, CA. Solo collaboration show. Aug 4-26
Journeys, John Wayne International Airport, Irvine, CA, Jeffrey Frisch Curator. April 2-July 14
Violence, The Second City Council, Long Beach, CA. Todd Gray Juror. 1st place. Feb 16-March 16
2000 Obsession, SCA Gallery, Pomona, CA. Two Person Show.
Extreme: Ill mannered Art, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art. Santa Ana, CA.
Small Works, Top Priority, The Stage Gallery, Merrick, NY. Len & Marge Nezin, Jurors.
PDA 2000: Painting, Drawing, Assemblage, I-5 Gallery, LA, CA. Jill D’Agnenica Juror. 1st place. Pyrography Expo, West Gippsland Arts Centre, Gippsland, Australia. Curated.
Alternative Perspectives, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA. Juror: Rhonda Saboff, Dirt Gallery.
1999 New Beginnings, SCA Gallery, Pomona, CA. Juror: Dan Callis
Peek-a-boo… Artifacts of Disappearance, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA. Generations: Tracing Art Through the Family, Discovery Museum; Kellogg House, Santa Ana, CA Discovering Darkness Beyond Light, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA, Tyler Stallings Juror.
Painted, Drawn, Glued, & Burned, Pece/Kent Gallery, Santora Arts Complex. Santa Ana, CA.
1998 Gallery 825 1998 Open, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA. Juror; Gronk.Honorable mention.
Collage/Mixed Media/Sculpture, Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA. Kim Abeles juror
Inclusion/Exclusion, Blackfish Gallery, Portland, Oregon.
Artists Guild All California Exhibition, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA. Wolf Kahn juror.
The Painter’s Eye, The Stage Gallery, Merrick, New York. Marietta Warner-Siegal, Ph.D juror. Jan 30-March 1 Profusion of Digital Art, Center for Visual Art. Juried. Oakland, CA. January 11-Feb 8
1997 Breath of Life, Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University, Orange, California. scaRRed & CONSuMED, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA Works on Paper, Deming Cultural Center, Deming, New Mexico.
1996 Works on Paper, Invitational, Musée Adzak. Paris, France.
Beyond Communication, Smallest Art Gallery In California. Santa Ana, CA
1995 The Caged Chameleon Art Gallery. Santa Ana, CA.
1994 Feed the Body Feed the Soul, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, Ohio. Honorable mention
1992 Rockwell International World Headquarters, Juried exhibition, Seal Beach, California Insights ‘92’, Juried exhibition, Cal State University Art Museum, Long Beach, California
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