Krzysztof Stępniewski

Krzysztof Stępniewski – young Polish painter. He fuses realism with surrealism, using theatrical gestures, grotesque and the sensuality of the human body to extract emotion.

Krzysztof Stępniewski – the body between realism and surrealism

Krzysztof Stępniewski (b. 1993, Warsaw) is an artist associated with young art. The human body is his central subject — a carrier of emotion and a stage where realism meets surreal poetics.

Biography and education

He studied Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts. Early interests in drawing evolved into oil painting. During his first study years he worked on advertising murals. In 2017 he created his first oil series, shaping a distinctive personal style.

Style and themes

Stępniewski merges theatrical gesture, grotesque and sensual corporeality. His figures amplify tension between the physical and the emotional, balancing classical references with a contemporary sensibility.

Influences

• Renaissance & Baroque: Caravaggio, Rubens, Raphael, Botticelli; sculpture of Bernini and Michelangelo,
• Hellenistic sculpture and mythological scenes,
• Modern & contemporary: Egon Schiele, Salvador Dalí, Henry Scott Tuke, Hippolyte Flandrin, David LaChapelle, Tamara de Lempicka, Andrzej Wróblewski.

Exhibitions, collections and projects

He has exhibited in Poland and abroad; his works are in private collections in Poland, France, the UK and the USA. He also undertakes commercial projects and creates set designs for advertising and fashion editorials.