
Paintings
75 works

Queen, 2023
Oil on canvas
60 x 48 inches
Eric Stefanski's "Queen" presents a commanding presence through the artist's signature text-based approach, where language becomes both subject and surface. The large-scale canvas, measuring 60 x 48 inches, allows the word to occupy space with undeniable authority, its letters rendered in oil with visible brushwork that speaks to the physicality of painting itself. Stefanski builds the composition through layered mark-making, where drips, erasures, and gestural strokes accumulate around and within the letterforms, creating a visual archaeology of process. The palette anchors the work in tones that feel simultaneously regal and raw, balancing warmth against cooler undertones that prevent the piece from slipping into easy sentiment. What distinguishes Stefanski's practice is his treatment of words not as graphic elements but as vessels carrying emotional weight—what he describes as emotional residue. In "Queen," the title word arrives loaded with associations: monarchy and power, yes, but also intimacy, endearment, identity, and self-possession. The painting refuses to settle on a single reading, instead holding these meanings in productive tension. The scale invites contemplation while the directness of a single word creates immediate impact, a duality that defines much of Stefanski's output. Within his broader body of work, "Queen" demonstrates his continued investigation into how typography can carry the same expressive potential as figuration or abstraction. The surface rewards close looking, revealing the accumulation of decisions that transform simple text into something felt rather than merely read. For acquisition inquiries regarding "Queen," please contact Guy Hepner gallery in New York.


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.