Eion Stevens

The intriguing, surreal work of Dunedin-born painter and printmaker Eion Stevens is distinctive both for its pared-back style and double-edged humour, presented in paintings using signature flat planes of strong colour to create a stage for the unexpected. A critic once described the work of this nationally recognised artist as “creating the sense of being in a strange world of paint where anything is possible”.

Stevens is well respected for his originality, his ability to seduce and then disconcert, the very deceptive pared-back execution which always delivers an ‘emotional hit’ and reveals more and more irony with viewing. Often it’s an offbeat sense of humour laid over a more solemn, sometimes disturbing meaning. His titles are often part of the visual pun. He is a very honest painter: he shows us his own dreams, memories and foibles and intends us to bring to it our own experience.

Stevens’ works originate in free association of ideas. He creates a “visual collage” within the painting, the planes of flat colour sometimes like a stage set with hidden scenes just beyond, ready to be played out. Figures and icons lurk behind the wings of his stage, or jut into the space, implying another level about to unfold.

Recent Work 

Eion Stevens recently embarked on a radical new series, discarding the square frame and instead working with shaped boards which he cut out without preconceived notions of what the painting would become. Thus he was open to new possibilities and association of ideas, emanating purely from a curve, an angle or the suggestion of shapes and icons familiar from earlier work..

The result was a series with all his trademarks like the tightly balanced Coast Road, or the wistful Solo based on the Truman Show concept of sailing literally into the end of the world. .

He also continues with traditional ‘square’ paintings underpinned by themes of wishfulness and impossible desire, such as the endlessly swimming figure in Crawl, or Caroline Bay, based on a Rachel McAlpine poem. Hereford St uses classic ‘shadow puppet’ imagery referring to a time when he and painters like Philip Clairmont lived and worked in proximity in central Christchurch.

More About the Artist 

Born in Dunedin in 1952, Eion Stevens studied both printmaking and painting and graduated from Otago Polytechnic School of Art (Hons) in 1973. He studied at Exeter College of Art, England in 1974-75 and in Europe later in the 1970s. He has exhibited nationally since the 1970s, and his works are held in public and private collections here and overseas..

His individuality and ironic imagery has attracted a steady following among collectors both through national auctions and exhibitions around the country and seen his values rise steadily although he remains one of the most affordable mid-senior investment artists. .

He now lives and works from Lyttelton, near Christchurch, near the sea which often features in his work. His work has been written about in major NZ art publications including NZ Art – A Modern Perspective by Elva Bett, 100 New Zealand Paintings by Warwick Brown, and in Art New Zealand.

Please contact us to confirm current prices: most prices are posted at the time of exhibition, and may be revised as the artists’ values increase.