His works regularly take their inspiration and reference material directly from television, movies, and the Interent, as they seek to unravel ambivalent connections between cultural clichés and lived experiences. Fascinated by quests for happiness, self-improvement, and existential meaning, Stevens’ work questions how the forms and messages of emotional capitalism are impacting contemporary experiences and expressions of identity.

Stevens has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally. Significant exhibitions include: GOMA Q: Contemporary Art from Queensland, QAGOMA, Brisbane (2015); What We Had Was Real, City Gallery, Wellington (2014); The Wandering: Moving Images from the MCA Collection, touring exhibition, various venues (2013-14); Supermassive, LA Louver, Venice, CA (2013); We Used to Talk About Love, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (2013); Desire Lines, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2012); Life is Risk/Art is Risk, National Artists’ Self-Portrait Prize, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane (2011); No Bad Days, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2008); Cliché and Collusion: Video Works by Grant Stevens, Museum of Art, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (2007); The Leisure Class, the Australian Cinematheque, QAGOMA, Brisbane (2007). He has undertaken residencies in Los Angeles, Shenzhen, and Sydney, and has received numerous prizes and awards for his work.

Stevens’ works are held in many private collections, as well as public institutions such as: the Queensland Art Gallery|Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Artbank; the University of Queensland Art Collection, Brisbane; and the Oppenheimer Collection, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Kansas, USA.