Artist Statement
My work investigates the relationship between order and intuition. My background in architectural and interior design established the grid as a natural point of departure—a structure through which proportion, repetition, balance, and spatial relationships could be explored.
Earlier works used repetition, pointillism, and photographic deconstruction to break imagery into systems of dots, squares, and ordered fields. Over time, that interest in structure developed into The Word, a body of work in which letters and words are translated into visual compositions through a coded alphabetic system. Language becomes embedded within the painting, while color, shape, position, angle, and rhythm determine what is experienced visually.
In Split, that structure begins to open. Forms are divided and redistributed across adjoining fields and panels, creating relationships between separation and connection, difference and continuity. The underlying system remains present, but the compositions become increasingly independent of the grid that generated them.
My recent paintings continue that progression. The grid is increasingly internalized rather than overt, allowing greater freedom in color, asymmetry, scale, balance, and the placement of recurring circular forms. Structure remains essential, but it now operates beneath the surface of the work.
I am interested in the point at which a system stops being something that is simply followed and becomes something intuitive—when order gives way to discovery. The work continues to evolve within that space between structure and freedom, language and abstraction.
About
Stephen Bezas is a New York-based artist and designer whose work explores the relationship between structure, language, repetition, and abstraction.
He studied at the High School of Art & Design and the School of Visual Arts, where he studied painting with Chuck Close. Alongside his studio practice, Bezas built a long career in architectural and interior design, developing a visual vocabulary grounded in proportion, geometry, spatial organization, and the grid.
His early work explored pointillism, photographic deconstruction, dots, and modular systems. These investigations eventually led to The Word, an ongoing body of work in which letters and words are translated into visual compositions through a personal coding system of color, position, angle, and form.
That underlying structure has continued to evolve. In the Split works, forms are divided and redistributed across adjoining fields and panels, while his most recent paintings move toward greater freedom, asymmetry, and intuition. Although the grid has become less visible, its discipline remains embedded within the work.
Bezas has exhibited in New York, London, Milan, Seoul, and other venues in the United States. Recent exhibitions with Upsilon Gallery include All the Bells and Whistles, Dead On, and the 2026 two-person exhibition ONE + 1: Stephen Bezas & Jasper Johns in New York.
His work continues to examine how systems can generate unexpected visual relationships, and how structure can become a pathway to greater freedom.
Design Work: sabdesign.net
Cold Spring Harbor, NY studio