Stella Vine

Stella Vine (born Melissa Jane Robson, 1969) is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities.

In 2001, she was exhibited by the Stuckists group, which she joined for a short time; she was married briefly to the group co-founder, Charles Thomson.

In 2003, she opened her own gallery Rosy Wilde in East London. In 2004, Charles Saatchi bought ''Hi Paul can you come over I'm really frightened'' (2003), a painting of Diana, Princess of Wales, which provoked media controversy, as did a subsequent purchase of a painting of drug victim Rachel Whitear.

Later work has featured Kate Moss as a subject, as in ''Holy water cannot help you now'' (2005). In 2006, she re-opened her gallery in Soho, London.

The first major show of her work was held in 2007 at Modern Art Oxford. In the same year, Vine designed clothing for Topshop.

Early life

Stella Vine was born Melissa Jane Robson in Alnwick, Northumberland, England in 1969. She changed her name to "Stella Vine" in 1995, inspired by Andy Warhol.Vine, Stella
"Girlcrush"
Stella Vine blog, 8 March 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2006. Vine lived with her mother, a seamstress, and her grandmother, a secretary. Her mother remarried when she was seven, and they relocated to Norwich. Vine said she was "making things and performing music and plays, as far back as I can remember.""Stella Vine biog"
, stellavine.com. Retrieved 9 December 2008. When she was a child, she used to make water colours in the library, painting Queen Victoria, and copying the Pre-Raphaelites and Greek Mythology.

Prompted by a difficult relationship with her stepfather, Vine left home at 13. Vine lived in the Argyle Street, Norwich squat before being briefly fostered in Brixton, London. Vine then moved back to Norwich and began to teach herself in the Norwich Reference Library. Vine's first job was at age 14 in a local Norwich cake shop. During this time, she entered a relationship with a 24 year-old caretaker, and, at the age of 17, gave birth to a son, Jamie.Billen, Andrew
"I Made More Money As A Stripper..."
15 June 2004. Retrieved 9 December 2008. Vine moved into a home for single parents and then relocated to London, where Vine joined the National Youth Theatre of Britain in 1983, and the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in 1987.

Vine lived with musician Ross Newell, "the love of her life" for over four years, but "stupidly" left him for another relationship; two years later she wanted to restart the relationship with Newell, but he no longer trusted her. In 2004, by which time Newell was settled in a marriage with children, Vine said that he was still her "soul mate"."Debt, Diana and homesickness"
'' The Journal'', 8 June 2004. Retrieved 10 December 2008 Describing how she decided to become an artist and what inspired her, Vine said a "wonderful ex-boyfriend" called Ross had always told her she should become a painter, and that she had always made "crazy doodles"."The Money Issue: answer the questions! Stella Vine – Princess Diana, Prozac and private views"
The Independent on Sunday, 7 March 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2008.

Career

Early work

For five years Vine performed as an actress, touring provincial theatres around the United Kingdom, as well as running her own improvised theatre company, Minx Productions, and playing with her band, Victoria Falls. Vine said it was difficult to tour with a small child but earned her Equity Card by performing with Durham Theatre Company. Amongst other roles, she played Barclay in Joe Orton's '' What The Butler Saw'' at Theatre Clwyd, The National Theatre of Wales: she was a fan of Orton, whom she discovered at drama school. Vine said she would wake up early and dance to songs by PJ Harvey before improvising around her character to prepare for each day's rehearsals. Vine remembers seeing "wonderful paintings by Gainsborough" whilst rehearsing at Kenwood House, London. In the late 1980s, Vine met the film director Mike Leigh.
After seeing Leigh's film '' Meantime'' (1983), it became her ambition to direct and act in improvised films. When Vine was in her early twenties she auditioned for him twice.

In 1995, she abandoned her ambitions to be an actress and became a hostess in a Mayfair club, where most of the activity was talking, often to elderly men, and "Any negotiation for sexual favours, or your time, or conversation, was very old-fashioned. Very English". Using the name "Stella Vine", she became a lap dancer. She worked as a stripper at Miranda's and later at the Windmill Club in Soho to pay the rent, whilst living with her son in bedsits. One man she met, whom she described as a "sugar daddy" and with whom she was still in contact in 2007, looked after her for six years, and in 1998 took her to New York, where he introduced her to the Frick Collection. She recalled in 2007 that "the candy coloured" room of Gainsborough proved such a rush of excitement that she had to sit down. Januszczak said that this was the moment Vine "realised how much prettiness was possible in art".

Painting

Vine's paintings are the most well documented part of her artistic output. She paints in both oil and acrylic with "trademark drips of paint falling from the lips and chin" of her subjects.Akbar, Arifa
"The Warhol tradition: The Many Faces of Stella Vine"
"The Independent", 17 July 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2008. The themes of Vine's painting focus on memory, nostalgia and fairy tales. Vine frequently draws inspiration from her private life, painting from photographs and her memory."Stella Vine: Paintings"
, Modern Art Oxford. Retrieved 8 December 2008. The theme of autobiography first surfaced in Vine's early paintings, created whilst she studied at Hampstead School of Art in the early 2000s. Vine painted her step father, with whom she had a troubled, abusive relationship.Eyre, Hermione
"Completing my new show was the only thing that saved me from suicide"
15 July 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2008.

Vine developed a "crush" on artist Billy Childish, and attended his music events;Januszczak, Waldemar
"The Paint Stripper"
The Sunday Times, 10 June 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2008. in June 2000, she went to a talk given by him and fellow Stuckist co-founder, Charles Thomson, on Stuckism. She met Thomson on 30 May 2001 at the ''Vote Stuckist'' show in Brixton, where she exhibited some of her paintings publicly for the first time in the show and formed The Westminster Stuckists group. Thomson, Charles (August 2004), "A Stuckist on Stuckism: Stella Vine", from: Ed. Frank Milner (2004), ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'', p. 23, National Museums Liverpool, . Essay text available on line a
stuckism.com.
/ref> On 4 June, she took part in a Stuckist demonstration."Stella Vine the Stuckist in photos"
Stuckism'' (London), p. 12, 20 August 2001. They split up after about two months, and were divorced in October 2003.

In March 2004, Vine claimed to have married him because this had been a condition of his paying off her debts of £20,000.Deveney, Catherine
"Stripped bare"
''Scotland on Sunday'', 14 March 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2013. Thomson said that this had been part of a business arrangement to promote themselves as an art couple, and that there had been no condition of marriage.Johnston, Ian. "Former husband of artist Vine denies paying her to marry him", Scotland on Sunday, 21 March 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2008.

In October 2006, The Stuckist group show, '' Go West'', at Spectrum London gallery, included two paintings by Thomson, which were "explicit images of his ex-wife."Barnes, Anthony
"Portrait of an ex-husband's revenge: The vicious feud between artists Charles Thomson and his former wife, Stella Vine, has spilled over on to canvas."
The Independent, 3 September 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2008. Vine said she had no comment. "In February 2008, Stuckist artist, Mark D (real name Mark Randall) opened a show of satirical paintings based on Vine's work."Deedes, Henry
"Vine's Stuckist rival sticks one on her at exhibition"
13 February 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.

Vine's mother, who had been ill with Crohn's disease, died suddenly from bowel cancerSaner, Emine. "My £600-a-week coke habit just to paint; Controversial artist Stella Vine speaks about the project inspired by Kate Moss that drove her to addiction – and how only the love for her teenage son stopped her from attempting suicide.", ''London Evening Standard'' (London), 1 December 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2008. around this time which led to Vine's high creative drive and the creation of her darkest paintings.Saner, Emine. "Why I had to paint Rachel; Her portrait of a heroin addict may be controversial – the police want it withdrawn from the Saatchi Gallery – but for Stella Vine, such work is clearly an expression of her own troubled life.", ''London Evening Standard'' (London), 17 March 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2008.

Rosy Wilde Gallery

In 2002 – 2003, Vine studied Philosophical Aesthetics with Johnathan Lahey Dronsfield at Birkbeck College whilst also attending the course ''Performance After Warhol'' with Professor Gavin Butt in 2002, and ''Women's Work'' with Kathy Battista at Tate Modern. She said she also found much of her art education through the Serpentine Gallery bookshop and became involved with East London artist-run galleries.

In 2003, Vine opened the Rosy Wilde gallery on Whitecross Street in east London, as a space that held exhibitions of contemporary art by emerging artists. Vine lived and worked in a studio above the artist-run gallery whilst her son lived in the basement. The gallery was on the verge of bankruptcy, when Charles Saatchi purchased Vine's painting of Diana, Princess of Wales ''Hi Paul can you come over I'm really frightened''. Thanks to the Saatchi purchase and interest in her work, Vine was able to pay the gallery bills. In mid 2004 Vine moved to Spain and the gallery was sold at auction. In 2006, she re-opened her Rosy Wilde gallery, this time in Wardour Street on the first floor above the first Ann Summers sex shop in Soho, London. The gallery closed some years later.

The Saatchi effect

Art collector Charles Saatchi discovered Vine's painting in a show called ''Girl on Girl'' in Cathy Lomax's Transition Gallery. He purchased Vine's painting of Diana, Princess of Wales ''Hi Paul can you come over I'm really frightened'' (2003), for £600 (Vine had originally wanted to price her paintings at £100 each).Kennedy, Maev
"Smart thinking takes on Saatchi hype"
''The Guardian'', 23 March 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2009. The painting portrayed the Princess with heavy eyes and blood from her lips. The work's title came from the thick red text painted across the canvas, a reference to Diana's butler Paul Burrell.Stella Vine's Latest Exhibition
Modern Art Oxford, 14 July 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2009. She painted as many as 30 of Diana alone, having become fascinated by conspiracy theories into the Princess' tragic car crash which she had read on the Internet. Vine destroyed many of these paintings soon after they were created. She put them all, apart from one, in a skip as she did not have enough space to dry nor store the wet paintings.

The price of her paintings "doubled virtually overnight", and as Saatchi anticipated, much of the media attacked the work in his ''New Blood'' exhibition, creating a considerable return in publicity for his investment. Media coverage focused on the controversial nature of the painting, as well as the fact that the painting had been bought for only £600 from an unknown artist, who was a single mother and an ex-stripper.Leitch, Luke. "Saatchi draws blood with savage attack on his critics; Gallery Owner Breaks His Silence 'I am being cast as the pantomime villain'", 26 April 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2008.

In February 2004, after Vine "rose to fame after being championed by Charles Saatchi",Akbar, Arifa
"Autism charity attracts titans of the art world"
''The Independent'', 22 October 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2008. her ex-husband Charles Thomson said that it was he and the Stuckists, not Saatchi, who had "discovered" Vine.Alleyne, Richard

''The Daily Telegraph'', 24 February 2004. Retrieved 9 December 2008.

On 28 March 2004, Thomson reported Saatchi to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for alleged breaches of the Competition Act and cited as an example Saatchi's promotion of Vine.Stummer, Robin
"Charles Saatchi 'abuses his hold on British art market'"
''The Independent on Sunday'', 28 March 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2008. The OFT did not uphold the complaint. Thomson, Charles (August 2004), "A Stuckist on Stuckism: Charles Saatchi and the OFT attack", from: Ed. Frank Milner (2004), ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'', p. 23, National Museums Liverpool, . Available online a
stuckism.com
In September 2004, Vine threatened suicide if her work was included in The Stuckists Punk Victorian show at the Liverpool Biennial; the owner of the painting withdrew it.

A subsequent purchase by Saatchi of Vine's painting of Rachel Whitear (also with blood running from the mouth) created further media reaction, as Whitear was a former drug user, whose body was due for exhumation. Vine refused to acquiesce to the parents and police's request not to exhibit the painting, then on view in the Saatchi Gallery in the ''New Blood'' show during March 2004. Richard Dorment, ''The Daily Telegraph'' critic, described the work as "another stab at creating the visual equivalent of tabloid journalism." Vine said she was upset that some people, including her relatives, didn't like her image of Diana, as she believed it was not a disrespectful picture but was in fact a self-portrait as much as a depiction of Diana: "The picture is about two women. One who lived in Kensington Palace. And the other who lives down the Whitecross Street. 'I look at the picture,' says Vine, 'and I also see myself'".

In June 2004, Vine held her first solo exhibition, ''Prozac and Private Views'', at Transition Gallery, London. Vine was interviewed about the exhibition by Jenni Murray for the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Woman's Hour''."Stella Vine What to make of Charles Saatchi's latest find?"
BBC, 7 June 2004. Retrieved 10 December 2008

In September 2004, Vine went back to her home town of Alnwick, where she donated 3 paintings to the Bailiffgate Museum collection, the local museum. Bailiffgate Museum free exhibition brochure: Stella Vine, 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2009. Two of the paintings were autobiographical. One painting called ''The Rumbling Kurn'' (2003) shows part of the Alnwick shoreline near Howick beach, whilst ''27 Clayport Gardens'' (2004) depicts Vine in a pram as a child "outside her grandmother's old house". The third work depicts Catherine Deneuve in the film '' Belle de Jour'' (1968) called ''Belle'' (2004) is a painting with collage, including a pink satin ribbon and a small cut out ink jet print of a bee, stuck onto the painting. The name ''Belle'' is painted in red across the circular board.Vine, Stella. ''Stella Vine: Paintings'', Modern Art Oxford, 2007.

/ref>

In 2005, Vine lived in Los Angeles having been invited by the Roberts & Tilton gallery to put on a solo show there The solo exhibition ''Petal (Part Two)'' ran from 3 June – 2 July 2005. Vine returned to London's Bloomsbury district, using a local Camera Café as her office.Williams-Akoto
"My Home: Stella Vine, artist"
, ''The Independent'', 30 November 2005. Retrieved 8 December 2008. There followed solo shows in Israel, Los Angeles, London and New York. She was included in the second Prague Biennale. Also in 2005, her solo show of new paintings ''Stellawood'' was staged at Tim Jefferies' gallery in Mayfair, London. At this time, Vine collaborated with the artist James Jessop for the exhibition ''Fame'' at the This Way Up Gallery above the Dragon Bar in East London. The installation of paintings was based on the New York graffiti scene of the 1980s, including depictions of Fab Five Freddy, Keith Haring and Blondie.

In July 2005, Vine made a painting of the No. 30 London bus which had been destroyed by a suicide bomber in Tavistock Square, outside her Bloomsbury flat during the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Vine painted over the artwork almost as soon as she had made it, as she found the work "simply too disturbing". Vine documented the bus painting before she re-painted over it, but refuses to show the photographs publicly during her lifetime. She described it as stunning and moving but "extremely harrowing to paint because there were bodies on the bus." The canvas now shows the model Abi Titmuss wearing bleeding red shoes.

Vine has made a number of large paintings of Kate Moss including ''Holy water cannot help you now'' (2005) and ''Kate unfinished'' (2005). Some of Vine's paintings of the supermodel were painted during the media scandal regarding Moss' alleged cocaine use. One painting of Moss exhibited at Hiscox Art Projects in London, had a slogan ''Must be the season of the witch'' across it in red paint. Vine compared the supermodel to the ''Mona Lisa'' and said: "There's a bravery in Kate's eyes."Mingay, Jane
Painting of Moss using drugs on display
''USA Today''. Associated Press, London. Retrieved 30 January 2009. Vine herself admitted to a four-month cocaine addiction. She said, "I had been painting Kate Moss for a long time, both before the time of her crisis and during it. I felt very strongly for her—she's a hard-working mum and it seemed as if suddenly the world turned against her." Vine said the media should not have accused Moss of being a bad mother, commenting that "men can go off and take as many drugs as they want, have as many children as they want, and their parenting rarely comes into question". A Vine painting of Kate Moss was bought by fashion designer, Alexander McQueen.Honigman, Ana Finel
"Stella Vine in conversation with Ana Finel Honigman"
Saatchi Gallery 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2008.

In the February 2009 issue of ''Gay Times'', Vine discussed the 'tabloid frenzy' and media scrutiny that followed Saatchi collecting her work in 2004: "In the beginning it was a real battle to assert any kind of intelligence at all." She was happy the media gave her a platform when no one else did, giving the "opportunity for people to see my work and make their own decisions".Mercer, Joseph. "GT Art: Stella Vine", ''Gay Times'', pages. 46, 47, 48. February 2009 issue. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

Other works and exhibitions

Vine has created art installations and sculpture using found objects. In the work ''Girl in Lourdes'' (2004),"Prozac And Private Views"
Retrieved 11 December 2008. Vine created an installation using found objects such as a mannequin, a dress, a wig, a prayer book, holy water, a Lourdes candle, a found Lourdes souvenir, a Virgin Mary figurine, a table with flowers in a jam jar. A wall painting with the slogan ''Hotel Saint Bernadette'' accompanied the work and the mannequin had also been painted on by the artist. Another work ''Sylvia cooker'' (2004),"Prozac and Private Views"
Transition Gallery Online, 10 June 2004. Retrieved 10 December 2008 Vine painted poems by Sylvia Plath in enamel onto a found gas cooker, with a portrait of Plath decorating the oven door.

After her work was being collected by Saatchi, Vine's dealers told her they had sold paintings when in fact they had saved the best works for themselves. Commenting on her experiences in the commercial gallery world, Vine said: "The art world is really exactly the same as the sex industry: you have to be completely on guard, you will get shafted, fucked over left, right and centre."Smith, David (200
"Art? It's like the sex trade"
''The Observer'', 23 April 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2006. Vine said: "I have always been ambitious, no doubt about that. I always felt like I had to reach the dizzy heights of fame and success or whatever the heights are of a number of given professions I have dabbled in, to prove myself, "Stripper of the year", a Bafta or whatever, for me it was by creating something interesting and entertaining or moving, but not by compromising the thing I was creating, that thing had to reach those heights, I guess it's about being accepted and loved a bit or a lot."Vine, Stella
"Harry Pye"
Stella Vine blog, 11 March 2006. Retrieved 2 April 2006.

In 2006, Vine launched ''Stellacam'', which ran all day, every day for a 3-month period, enabling fans to watch her painting at her Bloomsbury studio and home. The webcam feed was streamed live online via her website and at social networking website MySpace.Lutyens, Dominic
"Art Houses"
The Observer, Sunday 22 October 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2008. ''Stellacam'' had an audience of thousands.

In June 2006, Vine held a solo show at the Bailiffgate Museum in Alnwick called ''Whatever Happened to Melissa Jane?''. The exhibition title played on the title of the film '' Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (1962).Millward, Miranda
Stella Vine Education Notes
, Modern Art Oxford, 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2009.

In August 2006, she was featured in the tabloids, when her painting of Celebrity Big Brother stars, Samuel "Ordinary Boy" Preston and Chantelle Houghton, "was used as the invitation to their wedding".

In September and October 2006, Vine exhibited a solo show ''The Waltz'' at the Museum of New Art in Detroit. Rather than a regular exhibition, Vine painted a large-scale mural across the museum space over a period of five days. The "live painting performance" was filmed and later exhibited alongside the stacked mural as a six-channel video installation showing Vine creating the mural."Stella Vine's The Waltz at Museum of New Art"
, September 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2008.

From July to September 2007, a major solo show of Vine's work was held at Modern Art Oxford. The show included more than 100 paintings which had not previously had much exposure, and also work made specially for the show, including a new Diana, Princess of Wales series of paintings such as ''Diana branches'' (2007) and ''Diana family picnic'' (2007). Vine hoped these new works would show Diana's combined strength and vulnerability as well as her close relationship with her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Vine covered the shipping costs of more than 100 works by giving the museum four of her paintings valued at £46,000. and oversaw the set up and installation of her exhibition at the museum herself, though did not attend the opening press launch day or any of the private view evenings. Richard Dorment of ''The Daily Telegraph'' praised Vine's work in the show for its ability to "skewer celebrity culture with a vitality and truth that can't be faked". A book accompanied the exhibition, including an essay by Germaine Greer. On 18 September 2007, Greer gave a talk about Vine's art with gallery director Andrew Nairne, though Vine notably failed to turn up.Deedes, Henry
Artist Stella misses brush with her adoring public
''The Independent'', 18 September 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2009. All of the paintings in the exhibition were sold.

Lynn Barber, writing for ''The Observer'' described Vine as "the real deal",Barber, Lynne
"Vine Times"
''The Guardian'', 8 July 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2008. and Paul Moody praised her work for "causing a storm in the art world".Moody, Paul
"Everyone's talking about Stella Vine"
''The Guardian'', 12 July 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2008. Arifa Akbar of ''The Independent'' compared Vine's examination of the culture of celebrity as coming from the same tradition as pop art founder, Andy Warhol. Vine declared a strong connection to Warhol, having studied his work in depth on an art course.Eyre, Hermione
"Completing my new show was the only thing that saved me from suicide"
''The Independent'', 15 July 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2008.

In July 2007, Vine collaborated with Topshop clothing chain, creating a limited edition fashion range inspired by her artworks. These included T-shirts with slogans such as ''Breaks Up With Her Boyfriend''.

In November 2008, it was announced that Vine had begun painting a series of new work for a large solo show at the Eden Project, Cornwall, England to be held in 2010."Stella Vine: Arts Hub UK"
Arts Hub UK, 19 November 2008. In January 2012, it was announced that Vine would paint a portrait of the Brontë sisters to help raise money for the repair of St Michael and All Angels Parish Church in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where Patrick Brontë was curate.

Charitable work

In 2005, Stella Vine gave three paintings to the ''Imagine A World'' exhibition, organised by Amnesty International.Mansfield, Karl
"The 5-Minute Interview: Stella Vine: 'There have been a few times"
''The Independent'', 28 November 2005. Retrieved 13 December 2008. In 2006, she donated"Emin knows how to charm punters" The Evening Standard (London), 18 January 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2008. a painting of John Peel and his wife to an auction for Terrence Higgins Trust. In 2007, she donated a painting to the Spectrum Art auction to raise money to support autistic children."Stella Vine – Melissa red jacket 15/15"
4 September 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2008. In 2008, Vine created the painting ''Didier'' (2008), depicting Didier Drogba, for the charity Sport Relief.Real Art Co's Sport Relief page
Vine also allowed them to create a limited edition print of ''Didier'' (2008) to help raise further funds for the charity. In April 2008, a drawing of author J. K. Rowling by Vine was auctioned for The Merlin Project charity.

Notable solo shows

* 2004 ''Prozac and Private Views'', Transition Gallery, London, UK
* 2004 ''Petal'', Tel Aviv, Israel
* 2005 ''Stellawood'', London, UK
* 2005 ''Petal (Part Two)'', Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, US


* 2006 ''Whatever happened to Melissa Jane?'', Alnwick, UK
* 2006 ''The Waltz'', Museum of New Art, Detroit, USA
* 2007 ''Stella Vine: Paintings'', Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK

Collections

* Saatchi Gallery
* Bailiffgate Museum
* George Michael (Goss-Michael Foundation)
* David Roberts (David Roberts Art Foundation)
* Brandes Family Collection, Israel
* Jacopelli Collection, Italy
* Adele"Soul diva Alicia helps raise half a million"
, 11 July 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
* Robert Diament"Temposhark"
. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
* Alexander McQueen
* Private Collections in UK, USA, Israel, Italy, GermanyArtnews.org Stella Vine
Retrieved 29 January 2009. and Canada

Notes and references

External links

Stella Vine web site


(historic site)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vine, Stella
1969 births
Living people
English women painters
People from Alnwick
20th-century English painters
21st-century English painters
National Youth Theatre members
20th-century English women artists
21st-century English women artists
English contemporary artists