Stephen Deffet

About
Stephen Deffet is a painter who constructs images from abandoned moments and jilted spirits. He follows his natural tendency as a voyeur to salvage images and videos lost by others. Sourced from the internet and thrift stores, these strangers' vacations, celebrations, and holidays are inherited as commodified memories. Ripped from their place and time, the images are then revived as paintings and introduced into the collective consciousness.
The dyed linen acts as a portal, an entry and exit into memories that could belong to any one of us. Through the application of a thick layer of ground, the viewer is reminded of each work’s original context: while the surfaces are smooth and the paint sits flat, the edges are irregular, as though they are ripped from the screen that once held the entirety of the fleeting moment.
Stephen Deffet was born in Columbus, Ohio, and received his BFA in painting and drawing from Ohio University. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States and internationally. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.