Sophia graduated in 2016 with a BFA from Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film with a concentration in sculpture. It was during her time at Watkins that she founded the Nashville Feminist Art Collective, a group focused on analyzing feminist movements and hosting discussions regarding first, second, and third-wave historical feminist texts. Culminating in a group exhibition at Kent State University entitled Point of Reference, this collective helped her gain a firm grasp on the intersection of art, feminism, and queer theory, which has continued to influence her practice immensely.
After graduating from Watkins, Sophia began working as a shop technician and gallery assistant at Vanderbilt University’s Department of Art, assisting both professors and students with sculpture and ceramics classes. In 2020, she was accepted into University of Southern Califonia’s Roski School of Art and Design MFA Program and is currently attending.
@sophia.alana.studio
Sophia Stevenson
Untitled Chain, 2020
Kanekalon hair, Polyethylene foam, pine wood and hairspray
Dimensions variable; 110 x 25 inches as currently installed
Sophia Stevenson
Untitled Chain, 2020
Kanekalon hair, Polyethylene foam, pine wood and hairspray
Dimensions variable; 110 x 25 inches as currently installed
Full Screen Image
Materiality is central to Stevenson’s practice to an almost obsessive degree. Untitled Chain drapes down from the ceiling, resting elegantly on the floor, like an eccentric piece of hardware. Made with synthetic Kanekalon hair, her sculpture has a fetishistic quality that addresses themes of camp and queer culture. Stevenson’s investigation of camp and use of synthetic hair evokes Madison Moore’s book, Fabulous: the Rise of the Beautiful Eccentric, in which Victoria Sin speaks about the significance of wigs in drag performance: “My wig is huge. It is in your way. Its presence makes you step aside. My wig is enormous, the bigger the hair the larger the space I occupy. It was always my space, but now you are aware that you are in it, and you move aside. My wig is huge. It helps me take up space so that you cannot see me. You cannot dismiss me.” The repeated interlocking chains in Stevenson’s sculpture that are at a larger than life, even
absurd, scale, mimic Sin’s repetitive assertions. The interlocking pieces also suggest community; a linking support system that creates space to be oneself, whatever form that may take, and stand defiantly in resistance to heteronormative expectations. Stevenson’s practice creates space for queer femme bodies to thrive. – Lauren Guilford
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Lauren Guilford is a curator and art historian based in Los Angeles. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from University of California, Santa Barbara with a focus on Baroque art and critical theory. Lauren has over seven years of experience working as an art advisor in New York specializing in Modern and Contemporary art. She has worked with several private collectors to build their art collections, providing them with art historical research and market knowledge. She has experience working with international galleries, auction houses, and institutions. Lauren also helped curate a three-part exhibition at Galerie Max Hetzler in Berlin and Paris in 2014. Lauren is completing her Masters in Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere at the University of Southern California where she is interested in exploring alternative art spaces.