Growing up in South Florida introduced the artist to his greatest inspiration, the ocean. As a young boy, he was fascinated by sunlight- the way it sparkled across the waves like hammered metal or streamed through the branches of trees and danced with the wind and leaves dappling the sand with highlights and shadows. In his recent paintings, the artist blurs the line between reality and a romantic notion of his past. Multiple layers of translucent paint create abstract forms, colors, and textures reminiscent of weathered wood, hammered metal, or colored gemstones. He travels back and reveals idealized memories of sunlight and summer breezes through atmospheric renderings on wood, paper, and canvas. "When Steven Anton Rehage was a child, his family would go to the beach every Sunday. And when other kids would look for seashells, he would search for pirate treasure—but ultimately settle on oxidized screws and coins and bits of sea-polished driftwood of ashen grey. Far from disheartened, Rehage found something wondrous in those misshapen odds and ends, forgotten artifacts that seemingly absorbed time itself to transform into something beautiful. It’s a concept the artist continues to explore to this day, with his latest exhibition, Patina," - Phil Lederer, SRQ Mag