Stephen Beale

Stephen Beale is a versatile artist. In the summer, during dry weather, he can occasionally be seen on his knees in the Herestraat in Groningen, recreating paintings by old masters on the pavement using chalk. In the colder months, Stephen works in his studio in Houwerzijl, where he creates unique, playful cabinets and sculptures in materials such as wood and natural stone.

“Homo Ludens and Wishful Thinking became sculptures that truly fit me from the moment I glued the first two planks together. The whole process—selecting stacks of old boards, measuring, sawing, fitting, gluing, and then shaping—was extremely time-consuming. A task that often made me feel like I was going crazy. After a good day in the studio, I thought I would create dozens of ‘men,’ and after a bad one I would loudly declare: ‘never again!’

Male figures of this scale are new to me. By sculpting a man, I feel I can reveal something of myself that I usually keep hidden—the playful side, the mischief, the exuberance, and not to forget a certain reserved thoughtfulness within me.

In any case, my fascination with the human body and its expressiveness has greatly increased through this way of sculpting.

The urge to immortalize Homo Ludens and Wishful Thinking in bronze was irresistible and came over me completely. I am literally and figuratively blown away by the final result.

By now, I have already started working on my fourth life-sized figure.”