Stephanie Rew, “Precious Metals”

July 12th – August 10th, 2025

Haven Gallery is honored to present Scotland based artist, Stephanie Rew, for her first solo show, “Precious Metals”, at Haven Gallery. “Precious Metals” is a collection of thirteen paintings and drawings, elegantly depicting female sitters adorned in historical costumery with gold ornamentation and accents cascading as both garb and backdrops. Echoes of art history imbued with influence from the west and east, cast a timeless yet universal gracefulness to Rew’s strong and present subjects.

Rew’s work is a dance of the past and present; a mingling of historical motifs and fashions with contemporary design and sensibilities. Through her medium of egg tempera and gold, she uses contrasting elements that reconnect us to antiquity, honoring the splendor of the past with the magnificence of an imaginative and inventive mind. An intimate and poignant look at her sitters innermost machinations of emotions is evident, timelessly and elegantly connecting us to ourselves and kin, now and then.

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ABOUT STEPHANIE REW
Stephanie Rew (b 1971) is a Scottish painter based in Edinburgh, UK.

Painting in the figurative realist style Stephanie incorporates paintings with gold leaf, combining traditional Early Renaissance gilding techniques with more contemporary ways of painting.

Stephanie won the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Bursary soon after graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee.

She won the ‘Best Nude’ Award in 2018 and the FWSD Award in 2019 in Art Renewal Centre Salon, is a finalist in the ModPortrait17 and ModPortrait19 Award held in Spain.

She was a finalist at the Scottish Portrait Award 2017 and has exhibited at MEAM Barcelona in both ‘Women Painting’ exhibitions held in 2019/2020 to celebrate International Women’s Day.

In 2021 Stephanie received the People’s Choice Award in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s Art Competition and in 2023 she won Third Prize in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine RayMar Traditional Art Prize.

In 2024 Stephanie created a gold panel to become the label for Compass Box Whisky’s Hedonism 2024 limited Edition bottling.

‘I paint in the figurative realist style, combining oil paint and egg tempera portraits with gilded panels using 24ct gold leaf. The decorative patterned gold leaf surface compliments the fully rendered paintings.

The female characters in my paintings are sometimes idealized and often romanticized but they are always strong. I strive to paint contemporary people but at the same time maintain a strong sense of history.

A narrative is not too important in my work. These women are primarily symbols of femininity and strength.’

I am interested in the historical element of art and theatrical costumes has always been a favoured theme, and have been using couture garments along with the kimono to add drama and design to my art.

I incorporate gold leaf into my work, exploring the relationship between the decorative reflective textural gold leaf surface and a fully rendered painting.

The design and pattern of the surface and textiles have become an important part of my painted compositions.

My inspirations come from my lifelong love of the Ukiyo-e Japanese wood-cut prints as well as the works of Caravaggio, Whistler and Sargent. I am influenced by the Baroque style of oil painting and utilise a combination of Old Masters techniques with my own. I also am influenced by the devotional artists of the Early Renaissance, Giotto and Crivelli, as well as the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement, particularly the modern fresco work of Margaret MacDonald and Phoebe Anna Traquair.

I enjoy bringing the classical techniques into the present day. It grounds me as an artist to look back in time to learn.