Steven White (BFA '95)

Photo of Steven White.

Queen’s University provided an excellent environment for me to learn, grow and flourish. The BFA program was small and intimate and it felt like home to me. Ontario Hall is a spacious old stone building and I felt inspired when I climbed the building’s curved steps every day. The various skills I acquired, such as welding, woodworking, concrete, plaster, drawing, painting and printmaking have become the foundation upon which I have built my art career. The instructors imparted technical knowledge and concurrently taught us to deconstruct conventions in order to discover our own authenticity. In my fourth year, I focused on printmaking and I was inspired by my instructor’s unconventional approach to the medium. In this program, I thrived and eventually was awarded the Andre Bieler award for the highest achievement in my year. My fellow students in the BFA program have remained life-long friends, including my wife Julia, who was one of them! The time I spent at Queen’s doing my BFA is a time I will always cherish; I discovered who I was as a person as well as an artist and I was given the skills and guidance to thrive.

Major career events since graduating from Queen’s include a major touring solo exhibition entitled The Combine Project, shown at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound ON, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo ON, and Grimsby Public Art Gallery. I was the artist-in-residence at Anchor Graphics in Chicago USA. Recent group exhibitions include Family Business Gallery NYC, Islip Art Museum in Long Island NY, Toronto International Art Fair, Nuit Blanche Toronto and a recent solo exhibitions at the BMFA Gallery in Collingwood ON. Future projects include an upcoming solo show at the Museum Of Steam and Technology in Hamilton ON and a group show at sPACe Gallery, Patchogue, NY.  My work has received media attention from Canadian Art, Toronto Star, CBC Radio, Musicworks Magazine, Utne Reader, Mountain Life Magazine, The Grid, /A\Channel Television, Rogers Television, amongst others.  I was recently awarded a mid-career artist grant from the Ontario Arts Council as well as a significant project grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, a Chalmers Arts Fellowship as well as an Owen Sound Cultural Award for Visual Art. My work is held in various private and public collections, such as the Tom Thomson Gallery, National Bank, Maple Leaf Foods, Universal Energy.

I currently teach art at a private school named Pretty River Academy in Collingwood ON and live in nearby Walter’s Falls with my wife Julia and our children Jasper and Ariel. 

Visit Steven White's Website

Artwork: 'Supreme'
Supreme, 2013,
48" x 64" Lithograph and spray paint on reclaimed plywood
Artwork: 'The Combine Project'
The Combine Project,
installation view at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery, 2011