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In the vast landscape of international street art, Sten Lex stand out as a fascinating and highly recognizable artistic duo.
Visual poets of black and white, masters of technique and patience, these Italian artists have redefined the concept of stencil, elevating it into a refined and conceptual form of art.
Who are Sten Lex?
Sten and Lex began working together in Rome in the early 2000s, pioneers of stencil technique in the Italian context. From the outset, they distinguished themselves with a rigorous, monochromatic, and strongly graphic style, breaking away from the colorful and hyper-expressive aesthetics of traditional graffiti.
Their name combines two identities: Sten, active in the Roman scene since the late ’90s, and Lex, an artist with a similar style and a shared passion for urban art and visual experimentation. Together, they have created a distinctive visual language composed of portraits, geometries, hypnotic patterns, and a masterful use of contrast between full and empty.
The Inventors of the “Stencil Poster”
One of Sten Lex’s major innovations is the stencil poster, a hybrid technique between stencil and poster art. The process is as simple as it is revolutionary: the artists glue a large cut-out sheet (the stencil) onto a wall, paint over it, and then let time—rain, wind, sun—gradually destroy the paper support, revealing only the underlying image.
This act, both controlled and random, adds a temporal dimension to their works: each creation is unique, subject to erosion and transformation, in a constant dialogue with the city and nature. It’s a form of street art that escapes the rigidity of the line to embrace the imperfection and poetry of the ephemeral.
The Aesthetic of Black and White
Sten Lex’s visual universe is deeply rooted in black and white—not only as an aesthetic choice, but as a philosophical approach. Their images recall engravings, analog photography, and halftone prints. The portraits—often anonymous, taken from archival photographs—emerge from dense patterns of parallel or radial lines, creating a visual tension between the abstract and the figurative.
The result is hypnotic, almost spiritual: each work requires time to be read, interpreted, and internalized. In an age dominated by fast images, Sten Lex invite us to slow down, to observe deeply.
Sten Lex on wunderkammern.shop
On Wunderkammern, you can discover a curated selection of Sten Lex’s works, including engravings on paper, works on wood, and limited editions.
Each piece contains the silent strength of gesture, the poetry of line, and the essential beauty of black and white.
To collect Sten Lex means bringing into your home a fragment of city, time, and vision. It means choosing an art that doesn’t shout—but whispers with depth, discipline, and beauty.
