Stacey M. Carter
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Stacey M. Carter’s paintings evoke shared memories of distant yet familiar eras, conjuring up lost or forgotten visions of time and humanity, and offer insight into the ever-changing urban environment through creative observation. She is known for her works of layered, mixed media compositions based on original photographs that are transformed using a unique combination of skilled printmaking and spontaneous expressionistic painting.
For over fifteen years, Carter has made work that draws from the site of her studio at the former Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. After working on paintings based on her original photographs of the Shipyard, Carter came across thirty negatives of the Naval Airship USS Akron in Sunnyvale in 1932. Her mind was instantly transported to the time of these marvelous engineering feats and the heroically ordinary workers who built, operated and maintained the day-to-day activities of those giant vessels. In these paintings Carter aims to create a sense of scale, give the viewer an appreciation of the achievements of the workers and freeze time, allowing individual histories to be recalled and shared once more. Layered and compositionally rich, this body of work is a study of how experiences define one's environment; it is an acknowledgement of what has passed and its importance to the present.
Carter is an accomplished visual artist with a 20-year career in fine art printmaking, fine art reproduction, and artists' book/catalogue printing. She was born in Cape May, New Jersey, and received her BFA from Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Philadelphia in 1991. While at Temple University, she studied abroad in Rome, Italy from 1989 - 1990. After receiving her degree in 1991, Carter moved to San Francisco, where she currently lives and works. This piece, recently gifted to NUMU’s permanent collection, is a study for a larger piece (~7x14 ft) featured in NUMU’s inaugural exhibition Giants in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of Airships.
ABOVE: Images of Carter’s Director’s Circle artwork. BELOW: Photos from Director’s Circle visit to Carter’s studio.
All images and artwork © New Museum Los Gatos. Do not use without permission.
