224

Stephen Towns

(1980-)

Black Sun.

Natural and synthetic fabric, nylon tulle, polyester and cotton thread, crystal glass beads, metal and resin buttons, 2016.
Signed, titled and dated in ink, verso.
35 x 27 in. (88.9 x 68.6 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    Private collection, Massachusetts.

  • Exhibited:
    Stephen Towns: Rumination and a Reckoning, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD,. March 7 - September 2, 2018, and Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA, October 12, 2019 - January 25, 2020.

    This work is part of Story Quilt (2016–2018), a series of seven quilts that narrate the life of Nat Turner and his 1831 rebellion. This work in the series depicts Nat Turner with red ribbon flowing from his arms, symbolizing the life-force of the enslaved.

    Textile artist and painter Stephen Towns was born in South Carolina and lives and works in Baltimore, MD. He trained as a painter with a BFA in studio art from the University of South Carolina and has also developed a rigorous, self-taught quilting practice.

    Towns's work is in the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, MD), the Boise Museum of Art, (Boise, ID), the City of Charleston (Charleston, SC), the Flint Institute of Arts (Flint, MI), the Huntington Museum of Art (Huntington, WV), the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington DC); the National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC); Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO), the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art (Asbury, NJ). Bio courtesy of the artist's website.
  • Condition:
    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

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October 7, 2025 12:00 PM EDT
New York, NY, US

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