Stephen Von Mason
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
→ Mazzoli, Carlotta, Collect Art Magazine, Featured Artist, Tbilisi, Georgia, March 2025
→ Williams, Ann, The Art Insight, Featured Artist, New York City, NY, February 22, 2025 - https://the-artinsight.com/forever-remembered-stephen-von-masons-artistic-tribute-to-aaliyah/
→ Gina &Astrid, Artist Closeup Contemporary Art Magazine, Volume 25, Featured Artist, Amsterdam, Holland, December 10th, 2024
→ Williams, Ann, Art Muse Express, Featured Artist, New York City, NY, October 2th, 2024 - https://artmusexpress.com/stephen-von-mason-art-as-healing-and-reflection/
→ Williams, Ann, The Art World Post, Featured Artist, New York City, NY, October 15th, 2024 - https://theartworldpost.com/stephen-von-mason-capturing-individuality-and-influence-on-canvas/
→ Barcelia, Suso, New Visionary Magazine, Volume 11, Featured Artist, New York City, NY, August 27th, 2024 -https://issuu.com/newvisionarymag/docs/new_visionary_issue11?fr=xKAE9_____w
→ Mazolli, Carlotta, Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art, Artist Interview, Barcelona, Spain, March 19, 2024 - https://www.altiba9.com/platfrom-interviews-for-artists/stephen-von-mason-painting-cultural-healing
→ Maginnis-Honey, Amy, Daily Republic, The deYoung Museum Open Triennial 2023, October 29th, 2023
→ Bammer, Richard, The Vacaville Reporter, The deYoung Museum Open Triennial 2023, September 12th, 2023
→ Artist Choice X Awards, Art Week Online Magazine, Camelback Gallery, Contemporary Juried Art Exhibition, page 1 – February 2023
→ Lemonidou, Eve, a two page spread with 4 color reproductions, International Contemporary Artists – Volume VIII, page 198 – May 2014
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS
→ 2024 Unyielding Voices, Barbagelata Contemporary Art Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
→ 2024 Cultural Healing, Art Channel Gallery, Toulouse, France
→ 2023 Something All Our Own: The Creation of a Fine Arts Museum, TeraVarna Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
→ 2014 In Search of Humanity, Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, Blue Mountain Lake, NY
→ 1988 Without Sanctuary II, Judith Weintraub Gallery, Sacramento, CA
→ 1988 Sanctuary, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
→ 2025 Collect Art Gallery – Men’s Special Edition, Tblisi, Georgia
→ 2025 Make Art Gallery – MET Gallery Metaversum 3, Rome, Italy
→ 2025 Artist Space Gallery – Green Art Exhibition, New York, NY
→ 2025 The New York Boyer Foundation – The Future & The Past, NYC, NY
→ 2024 Whitelock Art Center – The Boundary Between Dream & Reality, International Art Exhibition, Excellence Award Winner, NYC, NY
→ 2024 HMVC Gallery – Harmony & Diversity, International Exhibition, New York City, NY
→ 2024 Arteom Gallery - Broaden The Horizon, Krakow, Poland, Times Square Display, New York, City
→ 2024 Marin Society of Artists Art Centre - Sculpture and Assemblage – an Exploration, San Raphael, California
→ 2024 Omnibus Art Gallery - Figuration, International Juried Exhibition, Dresden, Germany
→ 2023 The deYoung Museum Open 2023 Triennial, San Francisco, CA
→ 2023 Saint Frajou Museum of Painting - 9th International Art Resilience Fair 2023, Saint Frajou, France
→ 2019 Venice Biennale, 58th International Art Exhibition, Biennale Project, Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale, Venice, Italy
→ 2019 Coos Bay Museum of Art, 3rd Place Award Winner, “Expressions West”, Coos Bay, Oregon
→ 2014 Color - Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY Figuratively Speaking - Agora Gallery, Chelsea New York, NY #SeeMeTakeover Times Square, New York, NY
→ 1997 Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA Emanuel Walter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
→ 1993 M. H. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA Rotterdam Art Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
→ 1992 Bomani Gallery, San Francisco, CA Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, CA De Krackeling Museum, Amsterdam, Holland Stedelijk Museum of Schiedam, Rotterdam, Holland
→ 1991 Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA
→ 1988 Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
→ 1986 Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, CA
→ 1985 Stephen Wirtz Gallery, Introductions 85, San Francisco, CA
→ 1984 Cartwright Hall, Bradford, British Print Biennial, West Yorkshire, England
→ 1977 Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
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→ 2025 Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhacker Foundation Nomination, nominated by Miriam Anton – Anton Art Agency, Santa Cruz, CA
→ 2023 Camelback Gallery - 10th Artist Choice International Juried Art Exhibition, Bronze Award Winner, Scottsdale, Arizona
→ 2023 HelvetArt Gallery – Merit Award Winner, March 2023 International Juried Art Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland
→ 2023 Contemporary Art Gallery Online - 2nd Place Award Winner, 2023 BHM National Juried Art Exhibition, Middleton, Delaware
→ 2023 TeraVarna Art Gallery – Talent Award Winner, 5th Color International Juried Art Exhibition, Los Angeles, California
→ 2019 Coos Bay Museum of Art, “Expressions West”, 3rd Place Award, Coos Bay, Oregon
→ 2012 Received an invitation from President Barack Obama to present my Art Program’s success with the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities at a Salon hosted by Pamela Joyner in San Francisco. Other presenters were, Alfre Woodard, Theaster Gates, Louis Vuitton Family and Pixar.
→ 1992 Eureka Fellowship Finalist, Fleishhacker Foundation, nominated by Robert Flynn Johnson – Achenbach Collection – Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA
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Born in South Bend, Indiana in 1954, I knew early on that I wanted to pursue life as a professional artist. After high school, I attended the John Heron School of Art in Indianapolis, earning a BFA in Printmaking. Seeking further growth, I enrolled at the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute, where I was awarded a scholarship. From 1977 to 1979, the Art Institute became a trans formative experience, exposing me to a dynamic community of visiting artists, including Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, David Hockney, and Merce Cunningham. It was also during this time that I learned from influential figures like Angela Davis, who taught women’s studies. These experiences deeply shaped my artistic identity and perspective.
Graduating with an MFA in Printmaking and a minor in painting, I soon discovered my true calling lay in the immediacy of painting. In the energetic art scene of the 1980s, I pivoted to oil painting, finding it a direct and expressive medium. My journey led me to exhibit widely, including internationally in England, and to publish three children’s books. Among them, my solo project, "Brother Anansi and the Cattle Ranch", celebrates folklore from the Ashanti tribe of West Africa, a reflection of my connection to culture and storytelling.
Balancing my artistic pursuits, I worked as an artisan in museums and galleries, ensuring a steady income while remaining immersed in the arts. Eventually, my passion for education led me to a fulfilling career as a middle school art teacher. In 2012, I had the incredible honor of showcasing my art program at the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, led by Michelle Obama, where I spoke after actress Alfre Woodard. This was a defining moment in my career, reflecting the depth of my commitment to education and the arts.
Throughout my life, I have embraced a three-pronged creative existence: artist, artisan, and educator—roles that have enriched my journey and kept me actively engaged. My dedication to art has also driven me to compete in international competitions, where I have recently received four awards, affirming my place within the global art community.
Today, I live and work in Vallejo, California, part of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, where my home studio serves as a sanctuary for my creativity. I focus primarily on large-scale oil paintings, often six feet or more, alongside smaller works. My art showcases and celebrates my culture while addressing the vital need for Cultural Healing. I pour my heart and soul into each canvas, honoring art history while pushing my ideas forward.
As a widower, retired art teacher, and practicing artist, I remain passionate about creating work that resonates deeply, connects to history, and envisions a more reflective and unified cultural future.
My work is a call to action—an invitation to reflect, respond, and confront challenges that remain critically relevant. I strive to create art that not only resonates but also catalyzes cultural healing. With a deep commitment to excellence, my practice continuously seeks to foster love and rebuilding, addressing the wounds of the past and the dissonance of our present moment.
My use of intense color and urgent compositions is intentional, representing the pressing need to mend the fractures caused by historical injustices—a cultural lobotomy that still reverberates today. Through figurative painting, I delve into scenarios that provoke thought and, at times, discomfort. For me, painting is an act of problem-solving, storytelling, and showcasing beauty in all its complexities. Themes of equity and equality are deeply embedded in my work, reflecting the values of my community and the need for dynamic, ongoing dialogue.
I am equally drawn to sculpture, architecture, and structural engineering, as I am to the influences of artists like Kerry James Marshall, Oliver Lee Jackson, and Sandro Chia. As a storyteller and history painter, my passion compels me to produce work that honors untold stories, especially those of marginalized communities.
This mission is more than artistic expression—it is a personal calling. Like the film Sankofa, my journey is about reclaiming what has been forgotten or erased. I create because the ancestors demand it, and through my work, I honor their legacy, ensuring that their voices remain heard in our ongoing cultural narrative.
