Stephen Namara

In 1994, Signe Mayfield said in The Palo Alto Cultural Center: "A more contained approach to the figure is seen in the lyrical drawing Bend, 1991, by Stephen Namara. In contrast to Neri's expressionistic forms, Namara has depicted the calisthenic stance of the figure in a pure, linear arabesque. An ambient, white light heightens the seductive beauty of the drawing. Its resonance comes from its capacity to act as both an abstract calligraph and Lyrical representation".

In regards to my work, I am trying to create atmospheres. I am, perhaps, not so much interested in the questions of details but on the way that the light is absorbed or reflected by the surface. I employ the tension of light and shadow to heighten the suggestion of spiritual qualities, much like the Spanish Realists of the seventeenth century. And always I am trying to reflect the present. For the present contains the memory of the past, even though the painting is the result of an extensive span.