KYLE STECKER
Chicago, Il
CONTACT: Kylestecker@gmail.com
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Kyle Stecker was born in West Chester, in eastern Pennsylvania, in 1986. He grew up in Orlando, Florida, supporting the sports teams from western Pennsylvania. After receiving a bachelor's degree from The School of Visual Arts, he became a New York City transplant, though he never adopted the local sports teams or developed an affection for them. Wandering, he spent time LIVING in Kyoto and then Tokyo before returning to the United States, where he earned his Master’s Degree from The Art Institute of Chicago in 2025. He is currently based in Chicago, where he still supports western Pennsylvania sports teams.
He makes paintings using a mix of materials. While he utilizes commercial art supplies, he also makes his own paints by processing found objects into pigments. These materials range from found fibers and dirt to sunbleached trash and memorabilia, which he arranges on antique fabrics. these textiles often bear stains and can be difficult to work with due to their age, he considers his process a collaboration with the physical history of wear and tear present in the fibers.
In his work, he looks for balance and aesthetic codependency, creating a non-hierarchical arrangement of surface, mark, and material. The materials and marks are distinct, but none become the sole focus. He finds the transitions between them beautiful, amplified by the individual differences that exist within a larger system of mutual support.
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Education
School of the Art Institute of Chicago - MFA Painting And Drawing, 2025
School of Visual Arts - BFA, 2011
Group Shows
PLACELESS - Idiolect Gallery, Chicago, IL. 2025
SAIC MFA THESIS SHOW - SAIC Galleries, Chicago, IL. 2025
PARAPARADISE - Asuka Watanabe and Kyle Stecker - Void, Tokyo, Japan. 2020
TEMPLE OF ART- La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. 2014
Private Collections
The Morgan Stanley Corporate Art Collection