Stephen Coyle
Where the Land Ends
Stephen Coyle Where the Land Ends November 7, 2023 - January 27, 2024
645 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 415.434.3055 | www.paulthiebaudgallery.com
Foreword Even in the busiest periods of life, there is a corresponding need to relax and reflect on events that have passed. In his exhibition Where the Land Ends, we find the artist Stephen Coyle taking a moment to reflect on the preceding four years, which have altered the structure and rhythms of American society so greatly. Long inspired by the beaches along the National Seashore on Cape Cod, this setting proved to be one of the safest places to recreate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveying the paintings, one cannot help but detect the arc of an emotional journey made during lockdown – Introspection, Refuge, Waiting, and the resolution that Meanwhile Life Goes On. In works such as Sun Filled Days, The Conversation, Laughter in the Shadows, and Keeping Watch, the journey has returned his figures, and by extension the viewer, to a sense of normalcy. Balanced against this are three paintings of wilted flowers, a requiem for those lost. Instinctually however, Stephen Coyle set his compositions within broad white boarders, giving viewers the sense that they are looking at a postcard or snapshot of a time gone by. These works also impart an important sentiment – these moments are behind us and can now be looked at in retrospect as we continue moving forward in life. Stephen Coyle has spoken about how the images he paints come from a deep, unknowable place within himself, and how when they arrive he has to paint them. I thank him for painting this beautiful, poetic, and reflective series of paintings and for allowing us to exhibit them at Paul Thiebaud Gallery. Greg Flood, Director December 2023
Rising Tide, 2022, alkyd on panel, 36 x 48 inches
Moored in Venice, 2023, alkyd on panel, 40 x 30 inches
Meanwhile Life Goes On, 2022, alkyd on panel, 36 x 48 inches
Keeping Watch, 2022, alkyd on panel, 48 x 36 inches
Refuge, 2023, alkyd on panel, 36 x 48 inches
2020, 2020, alkyd on panel, 24 x 20 inches
Sun Filled Days, 2023, alkyd on panel, 36 x 36 inches
Introspection, 2023, alkyd on panel, 36 x 36 inches
The Conversation, 2023, alkyd on panel, 36 x 48 inches
Poppies, 2023, alkyd on panel, 30 x 30 inches
2021, 2021, alkyd on panel, 24 x 18 inches
Laughter in the Shadows, 2023, alkyd on panel, 36 x 48 inches
2022, 2022, alkyd on panel, 24 x 18 inches
Waiting, 2023, alkyd on panel, 36 x 36 inches
Into the Mist, 2022, alkyd on panel, 36 x 48 inches
STEPHEN COYLE Born 1956 in Waltham, MA Education 1982 1981 1978–81 1978 1976
Further Studies with Gayla Tarmu, Los Angeles, CA Otis Parsons School of Design, Los Angeles, CA Apprenticed with Anton Sabas, Los Angeles, CA Mission Renaissance, Los Angeles, CA AA, Grahm Junior College, Boston, MA
Awards 1991 1991 1989 1989 1989
The Artist’s Magazine, First Place, Still Life Competition Artist of the Month / July, Manchester, NH Artist of the Month / October, Manchester, NH Artist of the Month / September, Manchester, NH Popular Vote Award, On Your Own Time, Boston, MA
Selected Solo Exhibitions 2023
Where the Land Ends, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA Postcards from a Painter, Quidley & Company, Naples, FL 2018 Stephen Coyle, Quidley & Company, Naples, FL 2017–2018 Recent Paintings, St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery, Rutherford, CA 2016 Recent Paintings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2015 Recent Paintings - Daphne Confar / Stephen Coyle, The William Scott Gallery, Provincetown, MA, (two-person) 2014 Recent Paintings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2013 New Paintings, Chase Young Gallery, Boston, MA 2012 Recent Paintings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2011 New Paintings, Chase Gallery, Boston MA Stephen Coyle and Kate Ryan, New Works, William Scott Gallery, Provincetown, MA, (two-person) 2010 Stephen Coyle, William Scott Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2009 New Paintings, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Stephen Coyle, William Scott Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2007 New Paintings, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Stephen Coyle and Marc Kundmann, Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA, (two-person) Dorothy Rogers Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM 2006 New Paintings, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 2005 Stephen Coyle and Marc Kundmann, Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA, (two-person) Stephen Coyle, Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2004 Urban Living, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Stephen Coyle, Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2003 New Works by Stephen Coyle, Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2002 Chase Gallery, New Paintings, Boston, MA Featured Artist: Stephen Coyle, Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2001 Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA New Paintings, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 1999 New Paintings, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA (two-person) 1998 Point of View, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 1997 Gwenda Jay Gallery, Chicago, IL
Out of the Ordinary, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 1996 Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 1995 Brenda Taylor Gallery, New York, NY Open Studios, Distillery Building, Boston, MA 1993 Gallery Per Tutti, Boston, MA Gallery Java, Boston, MA 1992 Gallery Per Tutti, Boston, MA Nancy’s Gallery, Manchester, NH 1990–91 On Your Own Time, Transportation Building, Boston, MA 1985 Boston Visual Artists’ Union, Boston, MA 1983 Gallery 714, Los Angeles, CA Selected Group Exhibitions 2023 2020 2019 2018 2015
By the Water, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Summer Breeze, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA SURF’S UP: Group Exhibition of New Works, Quidley & Co., Nantucket, MA “This Land Is…” Int’l Landscape Invitational, Arcadia Contemporary, Pasadena, CA EXPO Chicago, Festival Pavilion, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL artMRKT San Francisco, Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA Reality Show - Outstanding Masters of Realism, Trudy Labell Fine Art, Naples, FL 2014 Art Miami, The Art Miami Pavilion, Wynwood Arts District, Miami, FL Stephen Coyle, Trudy Labell Fine Art, Naples, FL William Scott Gallery, Provincetown, MA EXPO Chicago, Festival Pavilion, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL arkMRKT San Francisco, Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA 2013 Art Miami, The Art Miami Pavilion, Wynwood Arts District, Miami, FL EXPO Chicago, Festival Pavilion, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL arkMRKT San Francisco, Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA Go Figure!, Trudy Labell Fine Art, Naples, FL Day In Day Out, Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT 2012 Art Miami, The Art Miami Pavilion, Wynwood Arts District, Miami, FL EXPO Chicago, Festival Pavilion, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL artMRKT San Francisco, Concourse Convention Center, San Francisco, CA William Scott Gallery, Provincetown, MA Go Figure!, Trudy Labell Fine Art, Naples, FL Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, CA LA Art Show, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA 2011 Art Connections, Gallery Anima, Deinze, Belgium Trudy Labell Fine Art, Naples, FL Dorothy Rogers Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM artMRKT San Francisco, Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco, CA Art Chicago 2011, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2010 San Francisco Fall Antiques Show 2010, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA Summer Group Show, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA William Scott Gallery, Boston, MA. Dorothy Rogers Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM Trudy Labell Fine Art, Naples, FL San Francisco Fine Art Fair, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA Art Chicago 2010, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2009 Winter Group Show, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Reality Check, Trudy Labell Fine Art, Naples, FL Landscape: A New Perspective, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Dorothy Rogers Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM William Scott Gallery, Provincetown, MA Boston Paints, Endicott College, Beverly, MA
Selected Group Exhibitions (continued) 2008 Twenty Years / Twenty Artists, Bachelier Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT Summer Group Show, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Art Chicago 2008, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL Dorothy Rogers Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM LA Art Show, Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, CA Modern Landscape: A Point of View, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 2007 Age of Innocence, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Time and Place, Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT Art Chicago 2007, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL LA Art Show, Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, CA 2006 Intimate Works, Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT Art Chicago 2006, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 2005 San Francisco International Art Exposition, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA Dorothy Rogers Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM 2004 San Francisco International Art Exposition, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA 2003 Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Gifts of Summer, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT 2002 JNW Gallery, New Hope, PA Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2001 Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT (three-person show) 2000 Tristan Gallery, Provincetown, MA New Work, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT Group Show, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI Kurt Lidtke Gallery, Seattle, WA Creative Resource Gallery, Birmingham, MI 1999 Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT 1999 Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS 1998 Creative Resource Gallery, Birmingham, MI Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, Kent, CT New Season - New Work, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 1995 Still Life - A Modern View, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA Field Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA New Talent, Chase Gallery, Boston, MA 1992 Toilets, Tubs, and Sinks, Kimball-Jenkins Estate, Concord, NH 1991 The Sacredness of the Commonplace, Shapiro Gallery, Manchester, NH Manchester Artists’ Association Silver Jubilee, Concord, NH 1989 Bow Street Theater Gallery, Portsmouth, NH 1986 New Hampshire Artists’ Association, Manchester, NH Publications and Reviews 2023 2020 2018 2014 2013
Espinosa, Mariano. “La Pintura Alquidica En El Arte Contemporaneo”, Pano Art Books, May 2023. Perez, Jailene. “Seashore Art with South County Vibes”, SO Rhode Island, August 7, 2020. Staff Writer. “Art & Life with Stephen Coyle”, Boston Voyager, April 30, 2018. Staff Writer. “Water and Sand”, American Art Collector, March 2018. Lee, Liz. “Painting from Instinct”, Providence Monthly, November 20, 2014. Nob Hill Gazette, July 2014, cover image (illustration only). Zevitas, Steven. “Must See Painting Shows”, The Huffington Post, April 2013.
2010 2009
2008 2007 2006 2004 2003 2002 2000 1997 1996 1991
Foritano, James. “Thayer Street a Destination or an Attitude? Maybe Both”, Artscope Magazine, 2010. Silver, Joanne. “A New Perspective”, ARTnews, November 2010. “Findings”, Harper’s Magazine, August 2009, pg. 84 (illustration only). Boston Globe, A & E, July 7, 2009 (illustration only). Chase Gallery. Stephen Coyle: New Paintings, Boston, 2009 [exhibition catalogue]. Boston Globe Magazine, June 14, 2009, cover image (illustration only). “Findings”, Harper’s Magazine, March 2008 (illustration only). The Santa Fe Catalogue, 2007, cover image (illustration only). McQuaid, Kate. “Comic Chaos and a Lost Highway”, The Boston Globe, April 29, 2006. McQuaid, Cate. “Pools of Light and Dark”, The Boston Globe, October 15, 2004. Ken Shulman. “Reviews, Stephen Coyle”, ARTnews, January, 2003. West Branch Magazine, 2003, cover image (illustration only). Provincetown Arts Magazine: 2001, 2002. McQuaid, Cate. “Patterning a Vision of Time in Paint”, The Boston Globe, July 13, 2000. New American Paintings, Open Studios Press: 1997, 1999, 2000. Hill, Shawn. “Stephen Coyle: Out of the Ordinary at Chase Gallery”, Bay Windows, February 20, 1997. Buchholz, Barbara. Chicago Tribune, October 10, 1997. McQuaid, Cate. “Suggestive Still Lifes”, The Boston Globe, April 18, 1996. Booth, Carol. “Giving Life to Still Life”, The Artist’s Magazine, December 1991.
Cover: Rising Tide (detail), 2022 Rear Cover: Sun Filled Days (detail), 2023 Copyright 2023 Paul Thiebaud Gallery. All Rights Reserved. Images copyright 2023 Stephen Coyle. Design: Greg Flood and Matthew Miller All images, except as noted below, photo: David DeMelim pgs. 6-7, 10-11, 16-17, 22-23, 30-31, 36-37, 48-49 photo: Matthew Miller No portion of this document may be reproduced or stored without the express written permission of the copyright holder(s).