Guy Hepner Gallery

Eric Stefanski Trying For Sale

Eric Stefanski
Eric Stefanski - Trying, 2023, Oil on canvas

Trying, 2023

Oil on canvas

20 x 16 in 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Edition

Unique

About this work

Eric Stefanski's "Trying" presents the word itself as both subject and confession, rendered in the artist's characteristic approach where language becomes a vehicle for raw emotional expression. The painting features the word painted in what appears to be a gestural, handwritten style against a ground that carries the weight of process—likely showing evidence of layering, drips, or the kind of surface texture that suggests repeated returns to the canvas. The letters themselves may vary in opacity or steadiness, embodying the very act the word describes: the imperfect, ongoing effort of showing up. Stefanski works within a lineage of text-based painting that includes Christopher Wool and Ed Ruscha, yet his practice diverges through its emphasis on vulnerability rather than irony or cool detachment. Where others might deploy words as conceptual puzzles, Stefanski treats them as emotional residue—traces of interior states made visible. "Trying" functions as both declaration and reassurance, the kind of word one might repeat to oneself during difficult passages. Its simplicity is deceptive; the present participle suggests continuous action without guaranteed outcome, capturing the suspended state of effort without resolution. The scale of the work at 20 by 16 inches creates an intimate encounter, drawing the viewer into a personal register rather than overwhelming with monumentality. This measured dimension allows the painting to function almost as a mirror or mantra, reflecting back the universal experience of sustained, uncertain effort. For acquisition inquiries regarding this work, please contact Guy Hepner gallery in New York.

Price on Application

Edition & Provenance

Year
2023
Medium
Oil on canvas
Edition
Unique

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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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Trying

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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