Stephanie Bester Archives | Online Art. Gallery

Stephanie Bester is an incredibly interesting, talented and versatile artist and human being. She qualified as a Nursing Sister, married her friend Paul whilst assisting him in his private practice, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Sociology and Anthropology, followed by an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Their interest in yachting and flying led her to obtain a Yacht Hand certificate and to qualify as a Private Pilot.

During their time in Johannesburg she followed her passion, thus completing a Diploma in Visual Communication. Once in the Eastern Cape, she completed her Baccalaureus Technologiae studies in Fine Art. During her studies she received awards for printmaking, best progress art student and art history.
Her quest for knowledge and love of art led her to an Advanced University Diploma in Visual Arts and finally a Masters Degree in Visual Art (UNISA).

Stephanie has participated in various community and local projects. She has contributed paintings to and had fund-raising exhibitions for various children institutions, including the SPCA. She has participated in various group exhibitions in Pretoria, Grahamstown, East London, Johannesburg and Chicago. Her solo exhibitions took place in Pretoria, East London, Port Elizabeth and Sabie Sands, Mpumalanga.

Based in the Wild Coast, in the Eastern Cape, she creates artworks focusing on the relationships between people, animals, the land and the interconnectedness of all. Her art-making processes of sculpture, painting, etching, digital imaging and printmaking became visual metaphors of the conscience – not as solutions, but as visual statements that could alter socially and personally constructed perceptions. Stephanie says “my artworks are a personal response to the many theoretical, environmental and spiritual issues explored”.

Her intention is to depict the fragility of Being within a world devoid of a serene human destiny. A world marked by a fragile and an imperceptible equilibrium that does not belong to Man.

Her vision is to create bronze sculptures that not only have an aesthetic appeal to the audience, but also have meaning. They should speak to the soul of the viewer by alluding to the art of conversing with different people, social groups, and settings as the key to developing good relationships. Throughout society both men and women tend to reveal darker, fragile, and lonely moments within the expectations and norms of what a human being “should be”.

These expectations create consequences that are subtleties only present in the subconscious attitude. My intention is to encourage the audience to look beyond reasoning as a possible catalyst for spiritual growth, a renewed identity and responsibility by discovering and developing the inner “Self”.