Statement
My work explores the paradoxical aspects of culture, both expansive and local. I’m inspired by family heirlooms, idiosyncratic collections, and the landscape of my childhood home. I disrupt these close experiences by pairing them with outside cultural traditions that intrigue me, making each and every object a hybrid. My objects manifest in sculptural ceramics that are often placed within created environments, transporting the viewer to an alternate reality. I utilize ornamentation and decoration to create a facade of culture, where my objects speak to multiplicity, diversity, and artifice.
Working at The Clay Studio has always been a dream of mine ever since I first visited while in undergraduate school at Penn State. My practice will be dramatically influenced by Philadelphia’s rich history, by living and working in such a vibrant city.
Bio
Stephanie Kantor is a visual artist whose practice focuses on ideas of culture, tradition, and artifice. She creates whimsical installations that include ceramic sculpture, furniture, papier-mâché, painting, and textiles. Kantor received her MFA from University of Colorado Boulder (2015) and BFA from Penn State University (2009). Kantor was a Black Cube Nomadic Museum Fellow in 2016 and has completed prestigious residencies at Belger Crane Yard Studios, RedLine Contemporary Arts Center, and Bunker Projects. She has exhibited nationally at Paragraph Gallery (MO), Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (KS), Sala Diaz (TX), Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (CO), and Bunker Projects (PA).
Education
2015 Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
2009 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Bachelor of Science in Art Education, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Residencies and Fellowships
2018 Resident Artist, Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh, PA
2016-2018 Resident Artist, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Denver, CO
2016 Fellow, Black Cube Nomadic Museum, Denver, CO
2009-11 Resident Artist, Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO
Private and Public Collections
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS
Laramie County Community College Collection, Cheyenne, WY
Belger Private Collection, Kansas City, MO
Merage Private Collection, Englewood, CO
Wenderski Private Collection, Colorado Springs, CO
Awards and Grants
2015
Albert K. Murray Fine Arts Educational Fund, Adamsville, OH
Beverly Sears Grant, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Neuman Family Graduate Scholarship, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
2014
First Place, Au Courant: King Exhibition, Visual Arts Complex, Boulder, CO
Albert K. Murray Fine Arts Educational Fund, Adamsville, OH
Professional Development Grant, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
