"Being in a museum with Stefen is venturing into a whole other world.

 

On our first visit Stefen limited us to three paintings focused on the Abstract Expressionists. In this restriction I felt a whole vastness revealed itself; slowing us down. No more grazing and skimming the surface. Stefen's depth of knowledge, not just of the paintings, but of the cultures and times, intellectual currents, as well as the mundanity of daily life of the artist and the subjects, powerfully brought the works into relief. 

 

This was not a regular museum tour with the docent providing a rush of information. There was time for silence and discovery, notably, not just for us, but for Stefen as well. And this, I think, gets to the heart of his brilliance: he is there to learn and question and experience as much as we.

 

Our second visit, spending time at the Impressionist Exhibition, had a different tone. Slightly more paintings, and more history of the Prussian War, of the economics, of the cultural strata. But always at the fore, a compelling curiosity and almost rapture in the relationship. Because that is what Stefen does so well, he creates an experience where you see art not merely as object, but so much more as an invitation to relationship.

 

If I’m lucky. I will have the opportunity to take many more tours with Stefen." 

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- Doug

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