Artist Statement
Stephanie Kirkland’s abstract expressionist paintings are informed by the many miles she’s spent hiking in remote parts of the globe. Channeling the calm and resilience she feels on the trails, her paintings are characterized by nature-inspired colors and compositions reminiscent of light shining through tree leaves. Mimicking the process of hiking, she embraces the unknown and lets color and exploration drive her work. She rarely pre-plans her paintings but uses layers of color and expressive mark-making to capture mood. Interested in nature as metaphor, her paintings explore themes of resilience, authenticity, and finding beauty in challenge.
Bio
Growing up in the rural South, Stephanie has always been deeply inspired by the landscape. She began painting and hiking in college, and since then, the two have become inseparable—with hiking-inspired color palettes and compositions informing her work. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in painting and English in 2012, and after a brief stint teaching high school in rural Alabama, she began a career in communications. She returned to painting in 2017 longing to expand her own creative work, and spent several years growing her painting practice while working as a magazine editor and communications director. She is now a full-time writer and artist living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
CV
THE ARTIST
Stephanie Kirkland
Abstract expressionist painter in Northport, AL
b. 1989
EXHIBITIONS
2023 Stephanie Kirkland x The Studio, Tuscaloosa, AL
2023 Spotlight on Art, The Trinity School, Atlanta, GA
2022 Stephanie Kirkland x The Wine Market, Tuscaloosa, AL
2021 West Alabama Juried Show, Cultural Arts Center Gallery, Tuscaloosa, AL
2021 Stephanie Kirkland x Sage, Tuscaloosa, AL
2021 8x8 Art Show, Tuscaloosa, AL
2021 Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival, Fairhope, AL
2020 Windswept: Abstract Landscapes, Arts Council Gallery, Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, Tuscaloosa, AL
2020 Monte Sano Art Festival, Huntsville, AL
2020 Stephanie Kirkland x Sydney Gruber, Session, Tuscaloosa, AL
2020 My Heart Through Art, Liz Lane Gallery, Homewood, AL
2019 8x8 Art Show with O’Connor Art Studios, Tuscaloosa, AL
2019 Handmade Art Show, Homewood, AL
2019 Bluff Park Art Show, Hoover, AL
2019 Birmingham Artwalk, Birmingham, AL
2019 My Heart Through Art, Liz Lane Gallery, Homewood, AL
2018 8x8 Art Show with O’Connor Art Studios, Tuscaloosa, AL
2018 West Alabama Juried Show, Cultural Arts Center Gallery, Tuscaloosa, AL
2018 Bluff Park Art Show, Hoover, AL
2018 Water of Alabama, PaperWorkers Local, Birmingham, AL
2018 Paper/Work, Salmon Library Gallery, Huntsville, AL
NOTABLE HIKES
2024 Everest Base Camp, Nepal (October)
2024 Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina
2023 Cloudland Canyon State Park, Northwest Georgia
2023 Huron Peak, Sawatch Range, Buena Vista, Colorado
2023 Paris Mountain State Park, Greenville, South Carolina
2023 Chihuahuan Desert, Marfa, Texas
2023 Sipsey Wilderness, Northwest Alabama
2022 Walls of Jericho, Northeast Alabama
2022 Sipsey Wilderness, Northwest Alabama
2022 Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
2022 Piestewa Peak, Phoenix Mountains, Scottsdale, Arizona
2021 Sipsey Wilderness, Northwest Alabama
2021 Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
2021 Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
2021 Sipsey Wilderness, Northwest Alabama
2020 Desoto State Park, Fort Payne, Alabama
2020 Zion National Park, Utah
2020 Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
2019 Banff National Park, Calgary, Canada
2019 Glacier National Park, Montana
2018 French Alps, Chamonix, France
2018 Calanques National Park, Cassis, France
2016 Mount LeConte, Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
2016 Cloudland Canyon State Park, Northwest Georgia
2015 Cheaha State Park, East Alabama
2014 Little River Canyon National Preserve, Fort Payne, Alabama
2011 Desoto State Park, Fort Payne, Alabama
2011 Little River Canyon National Preserve, Fort Payne, Alabama
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, Studio Art—Painting and Drawing, The University of Alabama, 2012
PRESS
2024, March AAA Explorer
2024, January Bold Journey
2023, December Canvas Rebel
2023, July Arts to Hearts Magazine
2023, February In Her Studio Magazine
2021, October Authority Magazine
2020, March The Avid Pen
2020, March The Tuscaloosa News
2019, November Hoover's Magazine
RETAILERS
Galaray House, Lexington, MA
Kathleen’s Interiors, Decatur, AL
Lampadas Living, Tuscaloosa, AL
RESIDENCIES & RETREATS
2024 South Porch Artists Residency, Summerville, SC (November)
2022 Artist Retreat, Paris, France
2022 Artist Retreat, Scottsdale, AZ