Incorporating dripping paint within repetitive strokes and pattern-like forms, Steven
Cushner creates works both gestural and concrete. Playing with abstraction and
representation, he transforms everyday imagery like a stop sign or the wheel of a
bike. Fan-like, bulbous, or open-ended shapes vibrate with intensity as their thickly
painted bands emerge from watery backgrounds. Deep, earth-toned lines intersect to
shape meditative patterns, furthering an organic energy. Whether the viewer sees
branches, signs, birds, or incomprehensible abstractions, Cushner’s paintings all
emanate an electric quality, a quirkiness separate from living things…perhaps
conveying the root of his passions and spontaneity.
Cushner was born in Cleveland, Ohio and later moved to receive his Master of Fine
Arts from the University of Maryland and Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhode Island
School of Design (1980, 1976). He currently lives in Washington, DC, where he teaches
at George Mason University and previously taught at the Corcoran School of Art. He
is the recipient of two Visual Artist Fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts &
Humanities, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and the Distinguished
Alumni award from University of Maryland. He has exhibited at galleries including
Hemphill Fine Arts, Addison Ripley Fine Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art, all, Washington,
DC; Firecat Projects, Chicago, IL; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY; 1708 Gallery
and Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA. His work is held in the collections of the Hirshhorn
Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, The
Washington Post Corporation, all, Washington DC; Yale University Art Gallery, New
Haven, CT; SunTrust Corporation and Markel Corporation, both, Richmond, VA.

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Website
http://stevencushner.com/