Rising Stars: Meet Stephan Cox

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephan Cox.

Hi Stephan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
Over an adventurous 43-year career, I’ve presented my glass sculpture in various ways: outdoor art fairs, wholesale to galleries, consignment to galleries, high-end international indoor art fairs, and direct retail commissions to residential and corporate clients. I recently travelled to the southwest talking to collector groups – Arizona Glass Alliance (azglassalliance.org), Glass Alliance – New Mexico (glassnm.org) – and meeting with galleries.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Sometimes smooth, sometimes rocky, occasionally harrowing, but always adventure – an artist reinvents oneself at intervals during a long career. The pandemic years have prompted this reinvention more than once.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have made original art for most of my life, working mainly in glass since 1979. A master glassmaker, I work alone at my rural Wisconsin studios, designing, blowing, carving, fitting, and assembling a remarkably diverse body of work. My complex, abstract, contemporary sculpture is collected and exhibited worldwide – my recent series of mythical men and beasts are outlandish, fantastical, strange, and rare.

How do you define success?
Of course, there is monetary success, which comes and goes and is vitally important for survival, but more compelling to me is creative success, something an artist must continually strive for and is only achievable through the work.

Contact Info:

• Website: stephancoxglass.com
• Instagram: @coxglassart
• Facebook: Stephan Cox Glass

Image Credits
Black and White artist photo credit: Jane Steinmetz All, other photos credit: Stephan Cox