Collage

I re-configure found images into ambiguous narratives that often refer to the original source but mess around with the message. Visually I respond to the operatic shimmer, sparkle, and complexity—the grandly narrated spectacle—that is the history of western art. I want to continue that high key drama in my work.

I’m tethered to the possibility of the story within the fragment. I play with symbols and metaphors from art history, language, and religion to create new images that are strongly representational, with an attention to precise cutting and visual consistency, and a nod toward absurd meaning.

"An unbridled romp through history" -- Michael Weinstein, New City

"Doug Stapleton’s cover art is a departure for us – odd, quirky, powerful, polarizing. It has motion and strength, like the best poetry ..."

~Jan Bottiglieri (Managing Editor: RHINO Poetry Journal) commenting on the cover image used for the 2011 edition.

" His collages express both a lighter and darker ironic spirit that keeps its sense of mystery alive with nostalgia for the erotic and expressive freedom of the body as it existed in ancient times." --Diane Thodos, NeotericART

"Stapleton presents another way the story of humanity can be told—by gathering elements of reality and applying them where we think they belong. -- Sarah Nardi, Chicago Reader

Represented by: Bert Green Fine Art, Chicago IL