Stephen Chambers studied at Winchester School of Art from 1978 to 1979 and then at St Martin’s School of Art from 1979 to 1982. He graduated with a Masters from Chelsea School of Art in 1983. Chambers has won many scholarships and awards, including a Rome Scholarship, a Fellowship at Winchester School of Art, and a Mark Rothko Memorial Trust Travelling Award. Besides his painting and printmaking, Chambers has also collaborated on three dance projects with the Royal Ballet: Sleeping with Audrey (1996), Room of Cooks (1997, 1999) and This House Will Burn (2001). Chambers has said that his work “speaks of states of mind, behaviours and sensibilities”, and critics have praised his use of colour.
Chambers’ most recent major project is The Court of Redonda, a large portrait series shown first in Venice during the 2017 Biennale, and subsequently at The Heong Gallery at Downing College, Cambridge. Chambers has a long association with Downing College, having been Artist in Residence at Kettle’s Yard in 1998. He also received an Honorary Fellowship from Downing College in 2016.
Printmaker
Born: 1960 in London, England, United Kingdom
Nationality: British
Elected RA: 13 December 2005
Gender: Male
Preferred media: Painting and Painting
Stephen Chambers RA
Stephen Chambers RA, Double Classroom, 2008.
Stephen Chambers RA, Beam/Boat/Boy/Branch, 2013.
Stephen Chambers RA, The Leap (with Turkish Finches), 2006.
Stephen Chambers RA, Ned Kelly, from the series 'Trouble Meets Trouble', 2012.
Stephen Chambers RA, Marie Antoinette, from the series 'Trouble Meets Trouble', 2012.
Stephen Chambers RA, Portrait of SW, 2013.
2018 The Court of Redonda, The Heong Gallery at Downing College, University of Cambridge
2017 The Court of Redonda, Ca‘Dandolo, Venice
Works from the Press, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall
2016 Recent Works, Northern Print, Newcastle
2015 Pickpocket, Atelier Rose & Gray, Hale, Manchester
2014 The Big Country and Other Stories, Pera Museum, Istanbul
2013 Black Mirror, Ten Art Gallery, Milan
2012 The Big Country (Artist’s Laboratory 06), Royal Academy of Arts
2010 Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London
North House Gallery, Manningtree, Essex
Kings Place Gallery, London
2009 Wills Lane Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
2008 University of Northumbria Gallery, Newcastle
2006 Flowers Central, London
2005 Galerie Frank Pages, Baden Baden, Germany
Flowers Graphics, London
Arts Council of Great Britain
Bibliotheque Municipale De St Paul Trois Chateaux
Bibliotheque Nationale de Grenoble
Bibliotheque Portes-les-Valance, France
British Land
Chelsea School of Art, London
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London
Clifford Chance, London
Deutsche Bank, London
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Ernst & Young, London
Lafayette College, Pennsylvania
Manchester University
Meermano Museum, The Hague, The Netherlands
Mediatheque de Roanne, France
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Portsmouth University
St John’s College, Cambridge
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Westdeutsche Landesbank, London
2016 Honorary Fellowship, Downing College, University of Cambridge
2005 Election as Royal Academician
1998/9 Fellowship at Kettle’s Yard/Downing College, Cambridge
1995 Elephant Trust Award
1989 Mark Rothko Memorial Trust Award
1986/7 Painting Fellow, Winchester School of Art
1985 Artist in Residence, Portsmouth Polytechnic
1983/4 Rome Scholarship
Three Naughty Girls, 2018, is one of Stephen Chambers’ new series, The Talking Trees of England, which includes four small-scale prints that explore the personification of trees. They were produced at Nutmeg Studios in south east London. The print is available to buy through Art Sales at the RA.
The Tears of Lament, 2018, is one of Stephen Chambers’ new series, The Talking Trees of England, which includes four small-scale prints that explore the personification of trees. They were produced at Nutmeg Studios in south east London. The print is available to buy through Art Sales at the RA.
The Old Rascal, 2018, is one of Stephen Chambers’ new series, The Talking Trees of England, which includes four small-scale prints that explore the personification of trees. They were produced at Nutmeg Studios in south east London. The print is available to buy through Art Sales at the RA.
Held at the Royal Academy in 2012, the exhibition Artists Laboratory 06: The Big Country (Trouble meets Trouble) charts Stephen Chambers’ creation of an immense print stretching across more than one gallery.
