VCA ART 2022

Grace Stevenson

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting)

I work with a combination of portraiture and pattern in traditional styles, focusing on restoring the life of an unknown person’s identity through pattern and colour. I construct patterns using repetitive shapes and colours derived from the portraits, bringing life to the anonymous person’s identity.


Drawing inspiration from unique archives found in markets and op-shops, I’m interested in the unfamiliarity of these people, and the enigmatic nature of portrait photography in the mid to late 1800s. These portraits are disrupted with bright contrasting colours inspired by the colouring methods of photography in this era, restoring bygone lives. Patterns are used to alter the viewer’s perception of these lost identities.

Grace Stevenson, Feeling Green (detail), oil on board, 40 x 50 cm, 2022.
Grace Stevenson, Pretty in Pink and Yellow, oil and acrylic on board (paired work), 40 x 50 cm, 2022. Documentation by SLACK.
Grace Stevenson, installation from VCA Grad Show, 2022. Documentation by SLACK.
Grace Stevenson, Gisela Roesling, oil on board, 22 x 34 cm, 2022.

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

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