STEPHEN ROTHSCHILD - Nonscapes and other Paintings
Stephen Rothschild was born in Dublin. He gained an MA in Fine Art at the Chelsea School of Art, London, and has been exhibiting in Ireland for many years.

Formerly a figurative painter and print maker his work has moved towards the abstract following a disastrous fire at his studio in 1996. Since 2000 he has spent much of his time away from Ireland. He currently divides his time between Ireland and France. This year Stephen has been invited to exhibit at the RHA Annual Exhibition.
This is his second Solo Show at the Lemonstreet Gallery.

Stephen Rothschild defies the trend towards "concept" that is so evident in contemporary artistic practice. He is bound to the ancient art of painting - that difficult, messy, physical and largely solitary business. Painting is for Rothschild a compulsion that is at once exhilarating, mysterious, frustrating and anxiety-provoking.

The work in this exhibition is concerned with paint, surface and a coming together of the abstract with an occasionally recognizable image. Canvases are richly layered, scraped, scratched and attacked. Colours and images appear, disappear and reappear. The palette is subtle, the surfaces satisfyingly sinewy and substantial.

A complex history lies beneath the tactile finished surfaces of these works. Paintings that seem calming may upon closer examination unsettle the viewer. They are created to the sounds of music or during long periods of silence and concentration. Images, marks and colours are suggested by fragments of sound, or are gathered from scraps of newspapers, or are evoked by unconnected phrases half heard on afternoon wireless broadcasts.

Stephen has had many solo shows including at the Guinness Gallery, Firestation Artist's Studio, and the Lynne Strover Gallery (Cambridge). He has also taken part in group exhibitions in Ireland, at the RHA Annual Show, and in England at the London International Art Fair. His work is included in different public collections such as the Office of Public Works, Ireland; St. Patrick's Hospital, Dublin; Cesis Museum, Latvia. His work is also held in private collections in Ireland, USA, UK and France.
His was also invited to show some work at this years Annual RHA Exhibition 2008.