Steven kolenik

Artist Statement

Steven Kolenik, a self-taught painter with a medical background, employs acrylics, oils, collage, pastels, pencils, and epoxy on canvas to build images deeply inspired by both mid-century and contemporary artists. His style is primitively spontaneous, boldly imperfect, with vibrant colors interwoven with original drawings and sculptural layering. Through depictions of humans and fantastical creatures, he channels a cathartic honesty—transmuting personal anxiety, joy, absurdity, and emotional surprise into vivid, expressively raw works that grasp the beautiful complexity of our shared humanity. He is influenced by the contempory artists Ronnie Nemorin, NEP, Gary Komarin, and Sherry Wolfgang and the mid-century artists Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline.