Stephen Akpo, a British artist, employs painting and sculpture as a means of navigating the inner terrain of transformation and renewal.

Blurring the boundaries between abstraction and figuration, Akpo conjures expressive paintings that echo with the quiet weight of melancholy and the fragile persistence of memory, conveying movement and emotion through his confident mark making and distinctive use of colour.

Dedicated to probing life's mysteries, Akpo draws inspiration from movies, art history, comic books and music, skilfully translating these influences into visions of self-actualisation and consciousness. Through abstracted internal conversations conveyed in paint, he shares life learnings and challenges, offering an emotive connection to others.

Stephen Akpo, born and resides in London, England

Residencies

2023/24 Artist Residency - SARABANDE FOUNDATION est. Lee Alexander McQueen CBE

Recipient of the Freelands Foundation Artists’ Bursaries 2024–25

2025 Nominated for the Mosaic Art Award

Exhibitions

2025 LAS Invites, LAS Gallery, London (Group)

2025 Group show, Gathering Gallery, London

2024 When your halo slips for good, you’ll have to wear your hood, Alexander McQueen Sarabande Foundation, London (Solo)

2024 lingua franca II, part the official London Fashion Week schedule , The Handbag Factory, London (Group)

2024 lingua franca, VO Curations, London (Group)

2023 The Royal Academy Of Arts (RA), Summer Exhibition, London (Group)

2022 I celebrate myself Part III, ASC Courtroom, London (Group)

2022 Art in* exhibition, Soho House White City, London

2022 I celebrate myself Part I, ASC Courtroom, London (Group)

2021 Exhibition, Soho House Brixton Studio, London

2018 Pop - Print & Zine Art Fair, London (Group)

2018 Guise, Never Fade, Soho London (Group)

Press

BBC The One Show

*Wallpaper Magazine

The Standard (Newspaper)

Grazia Magazine