For the past twenty five years my art practice has examined the concept of hierarchy in place of coexistence in contemporary society.  I look to the inherent "social" landscape that is witnessed, negotiated and defined by the human condition. Using historical genres, my work refers to a sense of place and moment, discovering contemporary uses for portrait, still life, and landscape.  I work with layers of meaning - pieces of figures, objects, spaces, textures, signs and symbols.  How and where these forms meet or remain separate, confer intimacy, conflict, or indifference, represents my cultural critique and my context for making art.

I make primarily paintings and drawings on paper and panel through an informed process of perception and distillation. In addition I have combined these disciplines with other media, such as transfer prints and digital photography

I’ve always skated between alternating cones of representation, abstraction, and language.  I work intuitively and analytically to form my own idiosyncratic language in order to offer a visually built experience and to invite inquiry. 

Stephanie Hightower