Stephen Boocks began his study of the visual arts in his early teens while simultaneously developing an interest in music, playing in bands with friends in southern Virginia. At 18, during what would now be considered a gap year, he was included in the Irene Leach Memorial Biennial at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia. That same year, he received a Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which enabled him to study for a year at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. Boocks later returned to the Norfolk area, where he completed his BFA at Old Dominion University. During this period, he became active in the local arts community, seeking out and creating exhibition opportunities for himself and his peers. He co-founded Praha Gallery with his future wife, Lori Anne Foster. Alongside his visual art practice, he remained engaged in the music scene, performing in several local post-punk bands. In the following decade, Boocks shifted his focus toward family and career, leaving less time for painting and music. In 2005, his professional path brought him back to the Washington, DC area, where renewed access to studio space allowed him to re-engage with his artistic practice. He became an active member of the region’s art community, exhibiting his work and curating exhibitions at local galleries. During this time, he also began producing electronic music, releasing albums on his label, Pour Les Oiseaux (French for “For the Birds”). His geometric abstractions from this period functioned as visual scores for his compositions, which were played through speakers mounted on the backs of the paintings. After nearly 25 years in his professional career, Boocks retired and relocated to Roxbury, New York, where he now dedicates himself full-time to painting and music. He is currently transforming a large garage space into Pour Les Oiseaux Studio—an evolving, multi-purpose environment for both visual art and sound production.

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