Stephen Andrews

Stephen Andrews reliably paints his subjects—and positions his viewers—at a remove. Beginning his artistic trajectory with a serially-produced collection of greyscale portraits featuring subjects diagnosed with AIDS, Andrews (himself diagnosed with HIV thirty years ago) shifted into color following the attacks of September 11, 2001. It was a calamity he observed at a close distance in New York City, and channeled, in a state of shock, through a series of dot paintings that reveal subjects and palettes additively, and at a distance. Andrews’ absorption in the production of color and the repetitiveness of painting has provided him a distraction from grief while promoting a distancing and reflective aesthetic.