Guy Hepner Gallery

Eric Stefanski I hope you are thinking of me For Sale

Eric Stefanski
Eric Stefanski - I hope you are thinking of me, 2024, Oil on canvas

I hope you are thinking of me, 2024

Oil on canvas

20 x 16 in 50.8 x 40.6 cm

About this work

Eric Stefanski's "I hope you are thinking of me" (2024) presents its titular phrase as both declaration and quiet plea, rendered in the artist's characteristic hand-painted letterforms against a muted ground. The words occupy the canvas with an intimacy that belies their directness—each letter bearing the subtle imperfections of the human hand, the slight variations in weight and spacing that distinguish Stefanski's text-based works from mechanical reproduction. The oil medium allows for a warmth and depth that gives the phrase an almost tactile vulnerability, as though the sentiment itself has been pressed into the surface. The emotional register here operates in the space between confidence and uncertainty. The statement reads as hopeful rather than demanding, carrying the particular ache of unreciprocated attention or distance that cannot be closed. Stefanski transforms what might appear on a screen as a fleeting thought into something permanent and contemplative, forcing viewers to sit with the sentiment rather than scroll past it. This is language stripped of context yet heavy with implication—we don't know who speaks or to whom, only that the longing is palpable. Within Stefanski's broader practice, the work exemplifies his ongoing investigation into how written language carries emotional residue. His paintings function as artifacts of feeling, capturing the interior monologues and half-spoken desires that define contemporary emotional life. The modest scale of this canvas—20 by 16 inches—creates an intimate viewing experience appropriate to its confessional tone. For acquisition inquiries regarding this work, interested collectors are encouraged to contact Guy Hepner gallery directly.

Price on Application

Edition & Provenance

Year
2024
Medium
Oil on canvas

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About the Small Canvases Series

Series Performance & Market Position Eric Stefanski's paintings occupy a distinctive position within the contemporary American art market — combining the visual vocabulary of Pop Art and street culture with a formally rigorous approach to colour, composition, and text that has attracted serious collector attention. At Guy Hepner, Stefanski works have been placed with collectors drawn to accessible, wit-driven contemporary painting that rewards both immediate engagement and sustained looking.

Stefanski's paintings are priced from approximately $5,000 to $35,000 depending on scale and complexity, with commissioned works and sold-out series commanding premiums on the secondary market. His work has attracted fashion, entertainment, and finance collectors who respond to its cultural fluency and visual confidence.

Technical & Historical Context Stefanski's practice draws on advertising, commercial signage, and the aesthetics of American vernacular culture, recontextualising familiar visual language within the formal conventions of fine art painting. His works typically combine text — often humorous, ironic, or affirmatory statements — with bold graphic compositions executed in acrylic on canvas or panel.

His engagement with popular culture is knowing rather than merely appropriative: Stefanski filters consumer imagery through an art-historical awareness that connects his practice to Pop Art predecessors while maintaining a distinctly contemporary voice.

Individual Works & Collector Preferences Stefanski's text-based works generate the strongest collector response, particularly those that strike a balance between wit and formal precision. Works from early sold-out series have demonstrated meaningful secondary market appreciation, reflecting both collector attachment and constrained supply.

Large-scale paintings work particularly effectively in the residential and commercial contexts where Stefanski's collector base predominantly operates.

Authentication & Condition Considerations Stefanski's works are authenticated through his studio. The acrylic medium is stable and relatively robust; works stored and displayed appropriately require minimal conservation attention.

Investment Analysis & 2026 Acquisition Strategy Stefanski's consistent output and expanding collector base position his paintings as strong acquisitions at their current price points. His primary market remains accessible, creating genuine upside opportunity for early collectors as his institutional profile continues to develop.

Contact Guy Hepner at 177 10th Avenue, New York to discuss Eric Stefanski painting availability and placement.

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I hope you are thinking of me

About Eric Stefanski

Eric Stefanski is a Chicago based artist known for large scale abstract paintings that incorporate bold, handwritten text. He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and earned his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2015.

Stefanski's work merges expressive mark making with direct, often humorous or self-deprecating phrases, using language as a way into larger themes around vulnerability, failure, and the pressures of maintaining a creative practice. His large-scale canvases favor vibrant color and bold lettering, with text functioning less as slogan and more as fragments of internal dialogue, blending humor with genuine emotional weight. Through this approach, Stefanski examines what it means to sustain a life as a working artist, treating uncertainty and contradiction as part of the process rather than something to resolve.

His work has been shown extensively in Chicago and Boston, along with solo exhibitions in cities including Tokyo and Madrid, and has continued to expand into galleries and institutions internationally.

He continues to live and work in Chicago.

Guy Hepner works with collectors seeking Eric Stefanski's bold, text-driven abstract paintings. Contact us to discuss available inventory or to inquire about upcoming releases.

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