On display at Schmidt Artist Lofts Landmark Gallery in St. Paul on Saturday were many different iterations of Camden Stevens’ distinctive character — a lanky figure, clad in a plain T-shirt, jeans and sneakers with a smooth glass orb as a head known as Stargazer.

Prints, a metal sculpture and a Lego figure of Stargazer populated the University of Minnesota Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate’s first solo exhibition named after the character.

Stevens, also known by his artist name C3, said Stargazer was originally a self-insert character, but it evolved as he wanted to detach his identity from his art.

“The Stargazer thing kind of started as an idealized version of myself,” C3 said. “But then I was having the realization of like, ‘If you’re doing some kind of self-insert, are you going to do the best possible version of yourself or are you going to be realistic about it and have it be a full form of self-expression?’”

The evolution of Stargazer was on full display, from its appearance in doodles in C3’s “Sketchbook 14” to an iteration of the character with dark brown skin in the inkjet print on panel: “Is It Wickedness?”

All of C3’s characters are faceless in some way and not always via globehead. One character has a pink, spiky brain and brainstem for a head and neck. Another, a simple paper bag.

When C3 does render faces in his artwork, they are incomplete or obscured — only half of a face, a glimmer hiding an eye or just the top of someone’s head.

“It’s too easy for me to be like, ‘Oh, I’m making a piece that’s supposed to feel sad. Let me use their facial expressions to communicate that to the audience,’” C3 said.

Another factor influencing the anonymity of C3’s characters is his desire to detach his characters from gender.

“There are no exact distinguishing things saying this is a man or whatever,” C3 said. “This collection then is acknowledging the space masculinity fits in my life, and why I do or absolutely don’t like that.”

C3’s consistent character design and the distinctive dynamism of his characters, lines and shapes call to mind Keith Haring, who had his own distinctive, hypermobile anonymous figures.

The most Haring-esque part of the STARGAZER universe is the use of abstracted, squiggly globe people as a substitution for in-universe text. It can be seen on a bottle of vodka in “Conversations With You Sponsor” and on an underwear waistband in “Man Up.”

Even the smallest details serve to immerse the viewer in STARGAZER. 

“Man Up” was the favorite piece of Rain McCafferty, a visitor at the opening. A shirtless, pale-skinned globe head beating up a person on the ground takes up most of the panel. Below, the arms of a yellow letterman jacket (as seen in “Dickhead 2”) splay out in both directions, and blood and broken glass can be seen above.

“I went in a backwards order and it was my first exposure to the fishbowl helmet bit,” McCafferty said. “There’s not many super raw experiences that humans can have anymore. At least, for most people, in most cases getting in a violent encounter is at the bottom of the list.”

McCafferty said the “obscured and garbled” in-universe figure text reminded her of being on psychedelics.

People of all ages, from young adults to middle-aged and older, visited STARGAZER, which showed just how many people were touched by C3 and his work.

“He’s a better artist than me,” said Liv Stevens, C3’s sister. 

A Schmidt Lofts resident, Stevens booked the Landmark Gallery for her brother. She sported vibrant blue eyeshadow dotted with darker blue stars and a matching black dress with white stars for the opening.

“I’ve loved his art for so many years,” Stevens said. “It’s just very cool to see him come around to be a professional.”

The making of STARGAZER was a family affair — C3 said his mother helped with the installation and kept him focused and inspired, as he writes in the show’s program. 

His other sister, Brenna, also helped him organize the show and was there to open the door for guests.

C3 said Nina Lund, who was in his BFA cohort, helped refine the collection.

“I love you all so much and I really appreciate being able to share this with you,” C3 said, choking up as he addressed his visitors.

C3 will be holding a free, public artist talk about STARGAZER on Sunday, July 28 at 4 p.m. at Schmidt Lofts and said he hopes to hold another exhibition in December.