Stephen Bambury's productive preoccupation for fifty years with the square, circle and cross has yielded a body of work that mines rich seams. Unlike the rigid formalism adopted by some other artists of the same period, Bambury’s work fuses intellectual and emotional content with material form. He has stated that he has ‘always seen the paintings as a means of promoting an inner reflection and of creating a context where an experiential exchange could take place’; what he calls a painting experience.
The central importance of materiality to Bambury’s practice is underpinned by comprehensive technical investigation; he has mastered the use of copper, aluminium, paper, resin, graphite, precious metal gilding, chemical patinas and rust. Sculptural elements comprised of steel, oil and burnt timbers expand the notions of a painting practice, while photography, screen printing and collaborative publications constitute another area of investigation.
Stephen Bambury (b. 1951, Christchurch) lives and works between Auckland, New Zealand and Normandy, France. He has exhibited regularly in New Zealand since graduation in the mid-70’s from the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Art. From the mid-80’s he has exhibited in the USA, Australia, France, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Among other awards, he received the inaugural New Zealand Moet & Chandon Fellowship in 1989enabling him to spend two and a half years living and working in France, a life-changing experience for the then-pre-internet artist based in New Zealand. A major retrospective exhibition at Wellington’s City Gallery and Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki at the turn of the century marking 25 years of his practice, coinciding with the publication of a monograph. Bambury’s works are held in all major museum collections in New Zealand. Also, his works are held in collections in Australia, The United States of America (notably the Philips Collection Washington D.C), France, Germany, and Slovenia