Godfrey Stephens (1939- )
Godfrey Stephens is a west coast original.
Born in Duncan, British Columbia in 1939, Godfrey has lived a life of Bohemian freedom and off-the-grid adventure. His inspiring body of work — including painting, sculpting and boat building — reflects his many years of travelling the world, living on his boats, and following the muse in all her guises.
Grounded in the wild Pacific West Coast, Godfrey’s work reflects nautical, modern, and classical influences, along with the formative influence of his boyhood relationship with Kwakwaka’wakw Master Carver Chief Mungo Martin.
From towering sculptures likened to abstract totem poles, to psychedelic whirling paintings, and sailing vessels crafted without blueprints or tape measures, the breadth and scope of Godfrey’s artistic output is staggering.
With roots in the Beatnik era, Godfrey still recites cool-cat poetry at the drop of a hat.1
Godfrey Stephens was born in Duncan, BC and had a unique upbringing living with Tony Hunt Sr. and carving alongside other West Coast masters such as Mungo Martin. With permission, he carved First Nations formline designs and eventually developed his own abstract visual language of undulating forms in vertical pillars that appear different from every angle. After leaving school at the age of fourteen, Stephens spent most of his life trading and selling his art and building boats. His niece describes his turbulent life during this period and how he “… filled four passports in the 1960s, one with 138 stamps.” 2
Sources:
1 Gurdeep Stephens, Wood Storms, Wild Canvas: The Art of Godfrey Stephens, 2014
2 Ibid: legacy.uvic.ca
Featured in
Downtown Art Walk
Artwork in Tofino
Weeping Cedar Woman
