Darius Steward
Occupy A Space #2 (Emily) - Watercolor on Yupo Paper, Signed
2018

Name: Occupy A Space #2 (Emily) - Watercolor on Yupo Paper, Signed
Brand: Darius Steward
Rating: 5 (115 reviews)

$7,500

£5,608.09

€6,549.93

CA$10,537.49

A$10,673.92

CHF 6,128.74

MX$129,418.11

NOK 71,116.21

SEK 72,388.13

DKK 48,967.65

About the Item

Occupy A Space # 2 (Emily) Watercolor on Yupo paper, 2018 Signed with the artist's initials (see photo) Series: Occupy A Space Exhibited: Occupying A Space, Swope Art Museum, January 18-March 3, 2019 Condition: Excellent, archival framing with OP3 Acrylic for UV protection Image/Sheet size: 48 x 31 inches Frame size: 53 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches Darius Steward is an American contemporary artist, muralist, educator, and community advocate whose emotionally charged watercolor paintings and public art projects examine race, memory, identity, grief, and social inequity in contemporary America. Born in 1984 and raised in inner city East Cleveland, Ohio, Steward has developed a nationally recognized practice rooted in portraiture, social commentary, and community engagement, establishing himself as one of the leading contemporary figurative artists working in the Midwest. Steward attended the Cleveland School of the Arts and the Interlochen Center for the Arts before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing and Painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2008 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Delaware in 2010. Following graduate study, he returned to Cleveland, where he established a studio practice centered on watercolor portraiture distinguished by luminous color, dramatic negative space, and psychologically resonant figuration. Drawing upon the experiences of family members, children, and members of his community, Steward transforms personal narratives into broader meditations on vulnerability, resilience, displacement, and the complexities of Black identity in contemporary American life. Working primarily in watercolor on Yupo paper, Steward has developed a distinctive visual language that combines technical virtuosity with emotional immediacy. His paintings explore the psychological pressures confronting African American communities through fragmented compositions and carefully orchestrated spatial relationships. Themes of racial violence, social instability, masculinity, grief, and generational memory recur throughout his work, while expansive fields of white space create a dynamic tension between presence and absence, isolation and transcendence. Over the past decade, Steward has exhibited extensively in museums, galleries, and nonprofit art spaces throughout the United States. Notable solo exhibitions include Pressure at Maria Neil Art Project, Cleveland (2016); Our Separated Selves at the Canton Museum of Art (2018); Occupying A Space at the Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana (2019); and Moving On at the Bonfoey Gallery in collaboration with Thomas French Fine Art (2019). In recognition of his artistic achievement and community impact, Steward received the Cleveland Arts Prize Emerging Artist Award in 2018. His work has appeared in significant museum exhibitions including Constant as the Sun at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland; FRONT International-associated exhibitions at the Cleveland Institute of Art; Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus at the Cleveland Museum of Art; and African American Art: Past, Present, and Future at the David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State University. Steward's work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Akron Art Museum, Canton Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Flint Institute of Arts, Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa, Swope Art Museum, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Cleveland Clinic Collection, MetroHealth Collection, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Summa Health Collection, the Thrivent Collection of Religious Art, and the University of Delaware Collection. In 2020, the Cleveland Museum of Art acquired Steward's drypoint The Practice #1 as a gift from Thomas French Fine Art. Upon the acquisition of Steward's work by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Director Kaywin Feldman remarked: “Steward uses his extraordinary skill as a watercolorist to add interest and drama to quotidian life. His vivid colors and unusual, eye-catching compositions will make his work a compelling presence in the museum's galleries.” Feldman later became Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Alongside his studio practice, Steward has earned recognition for ambitious public art projects throughout Northeast Ohio. In 2018 he completed two major public murals: Breaker of Chains, a 200-foot mural commissioned through MidTown Cleveland and Cleveland State University, and Support, located on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland. His mural The Waiting Room (2020), commissioned by Summa Health in Akron, transformed a hospital environment into a contemplative space focused on healing, patience, and shared humanity. Additional public commissions include Bowser Alley in Shaker Heights (2020), the POW! WOW! Cleveland Walls mural at the Rainey Institute (2021), a companion mural for the Lee–Harvard Branch Library (2021), and a major commission for Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland (2019). Steward further expanded his public practice through Baggage Claim: In Search of New Beginnings (2021), a sculptural installation created in collaboration with LAND Studio and the Cleveland Public Library for the Eastman Reading Garden. Developed during a period of profound social and political upheaval, the project explored themes of emotional burden, healing, resilience, and hope. Reflecting on the work, Steward observed, “I often think of my kids when I think of progress. The idea of the future, of the possibility of something new happening, is what fascinates me about youth. I can see myself in them—I can see whole alternative ways of living.” Committed to education and mentorship, Steward has taught and lectured at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Saint Ignatius High School, Laurel School and numerous community-based arts programs. His socially engaged practice reflects a sustained belief in the power of art to foster dialogue, strengthen communities, and encourage social understanding. Today, Darius Steward continues to expand the possibilities of figurative watercolor and socially engaged public art. Through intimate portraits, monumental murals, sculptures and collaborative civic projects, he creates work that is both deeply personal and broadly resonant, addressing enduring questions of visibility, humanity, and the emotional realities of contemporary American life.

Creator:
Darius Steward (American)
Creation Year:
2018
Dimensions:
Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)
Medium:
Watercolor
Movement & Style:
Contemporary
Period:
2010-
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Fairlawn, OH
Reference Number:
Seller: FA110761stDibs: LU1407523392