Paintings
71 works
Eric Stefanski Waiting For Our Nights For Sale
Eric Stefanski
Waiting For Our Nights, 2023
Charcoal on heavyweight paper
11 x 14 in 27.9 x 35.5 cm
Edition
Unique
About this work
Eric Stefanski's "Waiting For Our Nights" marks a compelling departure in medium while maintaining the artist's signature exploration of language as emotional architecture. Rendered in charcoal on heavyweight paper, this intimate work measures 11 x 14 inches, offering a quieter, more vulnerable counterpart to his larger acrylic canvases. The shift from paint to charcoal introduces a rawness and immediacy—the soft, smudged quality of the medium suggesting words caught mid-formation, thoughts not yet solidified into permanence. The title itself carries the weight of anticipation and longing, evoking the liminal space between day and darkness where intimacy often unfolds. Stefanski's text-based approach transforms written language into visual texture, each letter and phrase functioning less as readable content and more as the residue of feeling—what remains after words have been spoken and absorbed into memory. The charcoal's inherent fragility mirrors this impermanence; these marks could smear, fade, or be erased, much like the conversations we strain to remember. Within Stefanski's broader practice, this work on paper demonstrates his commitment to excavating emotional truth through linguistic form. Where his acrylic paintings often assert themselves with chromatic boldness, "Waiting For Our Nights" whispers. The heavyweight paper grounds the piece materially while allowing the charcoal to breathe, creating subtle gradations of gray and black that suggest depth without declaring it. This is art about what we say when we're waiting to say something else—the words before the words. For acquisition inquiries, please contact Guy Hepner gallery in New York.
Price on Application
Edition & Provenance
- Year
- 2023
- Medium
- Charcoal on heavyweight paper
- Edition
- Unique
More from this series
More series by Eric Stefanski
About the Works on Paper Series
Eric Stefanski's Works on Paper series showcases a compelling collection of introspective and emotionally raw pieces that capture the artist's distinctive voice. Through mixed media and drawing techniques, Stefanski explores themes of self-reflection, desire, and the mundane moments that define human experience. Titles such as I Love Myself I Hate Myself and Thirsty reveal the series' unflinching examination of internal contradiction and longing, while works like Grocery List and Show's Over ground these psychological investigations in everyday observation.
This series represents a significant body of work that demonstrates Stefanski's ability to translate complex emotional states into visually engaging compositions. The accessibility of the works on paper format, combined with their conceptual depth, has made this collection increasingly sought after by collectors interested in contemporary figurative and conceptual practice.
These pieces remain vital acquisitions for those building thoughtful contemporary collections. Several works from the series are available for purchase, and additional pieces may be acquired through direct inquiry.
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.