About

“I’m a person who notices subtle details in the physical world and human interactions around me, and I pay close attention to the things that draw my attention. My artwork grows out of a sense of curiosity, play, and the desire to explore meaning. I’m particularly interested in the tension created when opposing qualities coexist. I work primarily in wool and industrial felt, humble materials that embody contradictions in both the physical and conceptual realms. I process my life through the act of transforming tangible materials into satisfying forms, which occasionally resonate with kindred spirits. I define myself as a sculptor first and foremost who happens to work primarily in fiber, but I’m not opposed to the label of ‘fiber artist’. ”

Stephanie lives with her techie husband and two sons in San Jose, California, where she works from a studio at The Alameda Artworks downtown. She has been featured in publications including San Jose's Content Magazine, Adobe Inspire Magazine, American Craft, and 500 Felt Objects. Her work has been included in the Rijswijk Textile Biennial in the Netherlands as well as Sculptural Felt International and Black Sheep, touring exhibitions that visited Europe and Australia. Her notable group exhibitions include FiberArt International at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and the Museum of Quilts and Textiles in San Jose, Formex Stockholm 2008 in Sweden, and Transmission:Experience at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore. In 2015 she was honored as an Artist Laureate by Silicon Valley Creates, and she is a recipient of a mysterious and wonderful Belle Foundation for Cultural Development grant as well as two Center for Cultural Innovation grants and an Honorable Mention for the International Sculpture Center’s Innovator Award. Several times a year she is invited to teach her innovative techniques at art guilds and craft schools including Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee. She has recently developed a way to reach larger audiences across the world with an online video-based workshop.

Stephanie’s current solo exhibition is on view at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, California. Stephanie Metz: In the Glow features a series of evocative fiber sculptures that explore themes of soft power, aesthetic perception, and the paradoxes of female life through the use of wool felt, body-like forms and the color pink. View the artworks included in the exhibition here, and take a look behind the scenes at their creation here.

For over two years Stephanie worked on a grouping of multiple large-scale touchable felt sculptures that went on exhibit in a solo show at the de Saisset Museum in Santa Clara, California. Stephanie Metz: InTouch ran from January 9 - March 17, 2020; the show closed early due to campus-wide COVID-19 closure. As the world opens up to touchable, interactive experiences once again, InTouch has found subsequent venues such as the Brattleboro Museum, and is available for exhibition. In the meantime, you can view video walk-throughs of the exhibition and a behind-the-scenes artist talk/documentary on her YouTube channel, StephanieMetzSculpture

Stephanie is known as a dynamic public speaker, presenting her work to groups of adults or children, in person or via online video conferencing.

Original small artworks, prints, cards, and catalogs can be purchased through her online sculpture shop and in person at occasional Open Studio events or by appointment in San Jose. For larger sculptures please inquire by emailing stephanie(at)stephaniemetz.com .

A new side project brought about by the popularity of her Teddy Bear Unnatural History sculptures features clothing and gifts that channel her unique blend of art, science, nature, and humor. Find it at UnNaturalDesigns.com.

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