Sculptor, Teacher and Lecturer Stephen Rautenbach Stephen Rautenbach was born in Durban, South Africa in 1976 and went ton to study Fine art for three years at Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. Rautenbach’s Majors were Sculpture and Printmaking.
Rautenbach is currently working and living in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape South Africa after 4.5 years of teaching experience teaching sculpture at Somerset College. He resigned from teaching to start his own Studio Gallery on 44 Church Street Stellenbosch, and to do sculpting full time, at the end of 2009.
He is currently doing private commissions and exhibiting in the UK.
Stephen’s sculpture work reflects his fascination with dynamics of movement, light and composition and he loves doing sculpture studies of people, animals, birds and Fish.
Rautenbach says; “I enjoy exploring the emotional humanistic content I perceive in animals, their personalities, as well as their relationship and integration with people and our changing, natural environment.
“Currently I am developing short stories with my sculpture, through life- like studies of animals and birds.
“Sculptures, Images supported by short rhyming verse, with influences from reading books as a child. I also love nonsense poetry, and artists like Albrecht Durer, William Turner and William Blake. Themes have an underlying irony and wry sense of humour.”
His Animal sculptures, Owls and birds become characters, personalities and symbols that are international and cross cultural with varying interpretations.
“Within the theme of people; classical portraiture studies of historical figures, I also enjoy Therianthropy and mythology, leaning towards surrealism with human form,” concluded Rautenbach.
