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• To artist Stephen Antonson, plaster, a mixture of gypsum and water, is the stuff of dreams. He sculpts it, paints it, tints it, carves it and turns it into furniture, lighting and objects of surreal beauty. Each piece is hand made to order through Dessin Fournir. For one-of-a-kind designs, contact Stephen Antonson
• All images copyright Stephen Antonson 2011
• Built with Indexhibit

About Stephen Antonson

1966. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, the oldest of four boys, all of whom become artists.

1972. Mother attempts to reign in unruly behavior by putting a paintbrush in one hand, a cookie in the other.

1979. Try to fire ceramics in jury-rigged backyard kiln. Set lawn on fire.

1980-1984. Spend adolescence in Grosse Point, Michigan, building half pipes, playing guitar in a garage band and refusing to cut hair. Discuss surrealists in public speaking class. Include own plaster sculpture in presentation.

1985-1989. Study painting and sculpture at Carnegie-Mellon University. Go home for holidays and build cubist Santa Claus from plywood and picture frames and set on front lawn. Fired from Pittsburgh’s renown contemporary art museum, The Mattress Factory, for mounting my own impromptu show and hosting a candlelit opening during a city-wide blackout. Have first solo show in SoHo gallery.

1991. Move to New York City. Get M.F.A. at Hunter College. Live and work in Williamsburg loft. Play bass in band with Carnegie-Mellon alums and perform at Knitting Factory, CBGB, Continental, Wetlands, and Maxwells, among others. Record with Bar None records and tour East Coast.

1991-2002. Make art and show in New York, London, and L.A. Buy, restore, and sell vintage furniture.

1999-2001. Hired by Martha Stewart as a style editor for Living, where I meet my wife, who flees to Paris for an indefinite period three months after our first date.

2002. Design and fabricate oversize chandeliers, and cast dozens of concrete urns for early evening outdoor wedding in May in Maine. Forget that it’s still light at that time in May. Lit the chandeliers anyway. Renovate duplex apartment single-handedly around wife and newborn son, Finn, who sleeps in a bassinet in the kitchen.

2007. Move to a larger studio in Ft. Greene. Move family to brick townhouse in Boerum Hill and renovate around wife, toddler, and newborn son, James.

2007-Present. Design tables, chandeliers, lampshades, screens, candlesticks for private clients and decorators including Peter Marino, Miles Redd, Eric Hughs, James Huniford and Amy Lau.

2010. Co-author Home from the Hardware Store