Link for Memorial in Austin, Saturday, March 23rd HERE. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Steven Bernard Jones. He passed away on February 21st following a tragic fall that had left him paralyzed in November of 2023. Jones was one of the gallery’s beloved artists and had a well received solo exhibition in August 2021, & participated in our group exhibition, “Vision Board” in August 2023. Steven Bernard Jones was born in Houston, TX on August 10th, 1961. He received his BFA from The University of Florida in 1986 and his MFA from The University of Texas at Austin in 1990. Steven taught sculpture & various art classes at UT Austin, Southwest Texas (now called Texas State University), Austin Community College, and Huston Tillotson, before leaving for Florida State University to head the sculpture department from 2003 to 2007. He led sculpture workshops as an art ambassador with US AID in Haiti. Later, he moved to Auburn, Alabama, where he grew up, to care for his step mother. He continued his art practice and had planned to exhibit once again at our gallery. Anyone who was lucky enough to know him will remember his irreverent humor, as well as his strength and determination, no matter the odds. He was a consummate trickster, destined to be an artist. He realized early on that art making created a state of bliss within him, and that that was "an attractive idea for an African American man.” Steven’s work explores themes of Black culture, societal racism, injustice & hypocrisy, frequently employing humor to help digest such challenging subjects. He created sculpture, drawing, furniture, performance art & public art projects. In the late 80’s and early 1990’s he was part of a performance art group called the Seemen & used the stage name Homie Holmes whilst traveling the country, performing in places one might not expect a ragtag group of radical artists. In 1998 he co-founded The Off Center Performance Art Center here in Austin, which was later managed by the Rude Mechanicals Theater Collective. He often assisted UT Austin Professor Emeritus, John Yancey in his mosaic murals, such as Austin’s “Rhapsody,” (a short stroll from the gallery on E. 11th), & “Legacy” in Fort Worth. It was only natural that these experiences would lead to his own mosaic works, such as his “33 Degrees” series. Steven obsessed over Illuminati & Masonic traditions, & used his masonry practices to declare himself a Mason. The plan was that he would take himself through his version of their initiation, but backwards, from 33 degrees to 1 degree. Unfortunately, he only made it to 25 degrees. If he had already achieved bliss, one can only wonder what might have happened if he had lived to finish the initiation. Despite developing debilitating carpal tunnel/rheumatoid arthritis, he continued to make drawings and sculpture. His map drawings had originally been inspired by a former professor and artist, the late Carolee Schneemann, who had seen his doodles in his sketchbooks and took an interest. Using a sharpie marker (or sometimes a cattle marker, with a not so subtle reference to chattel slavery), he created elaborate abstractions which often resembled figures. "Drawing on maps provided a way of thinking about social and political issues, redacting visual information with my Sharpie marker.” His creatures spread across the surface of road maps or school maps, tools to provide direction & guidance. For his 2021 exhibition, I wrote, “Zero to Sixty might feel fast, but as a sixty-year-old artist, he’s just warming up.” He certainly believed he had many more years to live, create and grow. We are honored to have been a part of his legacy. Thank you for supporting the arts here in Austin and for helping raise another artist. - Deanna Miesch, gallerist Steven Bernard Jones was born in Houston, Texas, August 10, 1961. Steven received his B.F.A. from The University of Florida in 1986 and his M.F.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in 1990. Steven taught Sculpture at Florida State University from 2003 to 2007. Mr. Jones traveled to Port Au Prince, Haiti in 2005 to conduct a 2 week artist workshop with 15 Haitian artists culminating in a group exhibition in June at the FOSAJ foundation Sant D'A Jakmel, Haiti. He has also worked with Florida State University's, Master Craftsman Program as an Artist in Residence on their Memorial concrete bench project in 2007. In 2008, Mr. Jones worked with The Millstone Institute restoring the brick work surrounding their Historic family home. In July 2009, he served as a review panelist for COCOA, the city of Tallahassee, and Leon county. In 2010, Steven was a participating artists in the 88 Retrospective Exhibition at Domy Books and OK Mountain Gallery in Austin, TX. In February 2012, he exhibited sculptures and drawings in the Black TEXTtile show at 621 Gallery in Tallahassee, FL. Recently, Steven has been selected to the 2013 outdoor sculpture exhibition at Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, IN. Mr. Jones has also participated in a 3 - Man Show at The Office Lounge Gallery in May of 2013. Catalog available to order HERE.