page_title: Stephen Albair
section_title: Early life and education
hierarchical_section_title: Stephen Albair / Early life and education
caption_attribution_description: English: Stephen Albair: Hidden Gardens - Private Views (book cover image)
context_page_description: Stephen Albair is an artist living in San Francisco who specializes in tableau photography, metal work and narrative jewelry. Born in Haverhill, Mass and raised in Atkinson, New Hampshire, he was part of the thriving arts scene of the 1970s and 1980s in Chicago and New York City, where he became part of a community of artists that included Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, before moving to San Francisco in 1989. His metal work was exhibited at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian in 1974, 1981 and 1984, and the American Crafts Museum, NYC in 1983, 1984 and 1986.
  Among Albair’s chief influences are Ken Botto, Ray Johnson and Man Ray, whose work both as a jewelry designer and a photographer served as model for his own inclinations, as well as Marcel Duchamp. In the 90s his work was shown in Seattle, Denver, New York and London. In 2008 he mounted his show, Stranger in a Dream at the Kathmandu Photo Gallery in Bangkok Thailand. His continued interest in “blurring the reality between what’s real and what’s realistic, ” resulted in a book, Hidden Gardens Private Views published in 2010, which then led to another show in Bangkok, Beneath the Veneer in 2011.
context_section_description: After receiving his undergraduate and post graduate degrees from Illinois State University, Albair began teaching and received his first recognition in Chicago, aka the “city of the big shoulders” according to poet Carl Sandburg, when he was awarded 2nd prize by the Art Institute of Chicago in their 1973 Chicago and Vicinity Artists Exhibition. In the late 70s Tiffany & Co, Chicago displayed two of his sculptural works in their windows.
  
  Albair’s early life was tumultuous from the get-go, as soon after their birth he and his twin sister Jeanne (Gariepy), were moved to a foster home in Atkinson, New Hampshire, followed by stays in numerous other homes, as well as a year together in an orphanage from ages 7–8. After living with the Albair family for 2 years in Atkinson, New Hampshire blocks away from his sister, Albair chose adoption at age 14. Despite not living together as teenagers, he and his sister Jeanne attended Haverhill, High School together for three years. In his senior year he quit high school to enter the United States Air Force. While in the military, he gained a GED certificate attending the University of Illinois before being discharged from the Air Force in 1965. It wasn’t until his mid-twenties that he began to study and experiment with art.
  These early experiences, his close relationship with his sister, and his time spent teaching account for much of the imagery he has produced.  Though no specific autobiographical images have entered his work, these experiences set the stage for the themes of love, loss and longing that pervade much of his output.
caption: Hidden Gardens - Private Views (book cover image), 2009
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