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Steve Penley Refresh Acrylic on canvas 60x48 inches
Steve Penley on Painting Icons
Sitting at Five Points Deli in Athens, Ga., Steve Penley seems fairly unassuming. The internationally known, Georgia-based artist is wearing plaid shorts and a collared shirt as he leans back in his chair, talking casually about his recent endeavors– a show at the World of Coke in Atlanta, a book of his own, and a book he’s working on with University of Georgia legend Vince Dooley. With the show debuting last May and both books due out later this year, it appears the South is in the midst of a Steve Penley blitz. The display of Penley’s work at the World of Coke is the result of a relationship with the Coca-Cola Company that began about twenty years ago when a college friend, who also happened to work for the company, asked the artist to paint some Coke bottles for him and other company executives. Penley’s work caught on, and he was asked to do numerous small jobs, so many that the Coca-Cola Company is considered one of the artist’s corporate collectors. Penley believes that the Atlanta show, which features more than fifteen pieces of his Coke-related works, is the result of that long-term relationship. “I think they just finally threw me a bone and recognized me at the World of Coke,” Penley says. “It’s a really neat thing.” The relationship with Coke hits even closer to home for Penley. His grandfather worked delivering bottles of the soft drink to customers in Chattanooga, the artist’s hometown. “I went on some deliveries with him in Chattanooga when I was five years old,” Penley says. “It’s real neat to go from
that to actually being in the World of Coke. I wish he was here to see that.” Penley’s collection at the World of Coke succeeds a yearlong exhibit of the work of Andy Warhol, an artist Penley holds in high regard. It’s easy to see Warhol’s influence on Penley, given that both artists are able to craft remarkable works out of what seems to be the ordinary, everyday, and mundane. “Warhol is a great example of someone who has kept innovating, and made us see art in a new light,” Penley says. “He took ordinary icons and made them art, which is something I love about Warhol. I love the American icon.” Penley’s love of what makes America shows up in his book, The Reconstruction of America. “I’ve tried to use all American historic icons to tell the story of America, and why this is the greatest country on earth. It’s really kind of an unapologetic statement of bias towards America,” Penley says. Using national icons, like the Statue of Liberty, and presidents and other national leaders as subject matter, Penley created an impression of what makes America worthy of admiration. Also, he portrays figures from countercultural movements, people like Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan, to illustrate the individual freedoms and ingenuity of this country. The title, as well as the reason for the book’s existence, comes from the artist’s desire to make disenchanted Americans reconsider negative outlooks of the nation.
“In today’s America, we deconstruct all of our heroes and icons,” Penley says. “I’m trying to reconstruct the American icon. I’m trying to reconstruct, in my way, the things that are great about America and the things that are great about being an American.” Penley’s other project, a book he’s creating with Dooley, is another demonstration of what’s great…about University of Georgia football, that is. The book is a collection of Dooley’s favorite plays from Georgia football history, and Penley is illustrating those plays, with the help of archival photos provided by the University’s Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. The subject matter, again, hits close to home for Penley, a graduate of the University of Georgia art school. “Georgia football is a part of the history of my life too,” Penley says. Both books are due out in September, debuting just in time for the opening of this year’s football season. Through bold, vivid brushstrokes, Penley’s art illustrates timeless standards– from Coca-Cola to American heroes to Georgia football– in a new light. And, if the manner in which he chooses his subject matter rings true, Penley’s work has surely become iconic in its own right. “Time has a way of judging the good from the great,” Penley says. Kathryn Purcell is the managing editor of the Morgan County Citizen and a freelance writer living in Athens, Ga.
BY K AT H RY N P U R C E L L • P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F L I N S T R U M + M AT R E A R T W O R K S
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