Stass Shpanin
Stass Shpanin is a Soviet born, American contemporary visual artist.
Stass Shpanin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stanislav Vladimirovich Shpanin 16 May 1990 |
| Education | Tufts University/SMFA
University of Hartford Russian Arts Academy Tyler School of Art |
| Known for | Painting |
| Awards | Fulbright Award |
Biography
Stass Shpanin was born on May 16, 1990 in Baku – capital of Azerbaijan, one of the Soviet Republics.
At the age of 13, he moved to Massachusetts in the United States, where he became interested in the history of the Imperial Russia era that was forbidden and distorted in the USSR for nearly all of the 20th century. During his studies at the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, Shpanin created a project titled Trialectics, where he combined different layers of history in united monumental compositions. After graduating with in 2012, Shpanin travelled to Russia on a U.S. Fulbright fellowship, where he both continued his visual research of pictorial representations of the past and explored his personal relationship to the history of pre-revolution Russia. His current work highlights international historical conflicts through visual tensions created by manipulating historical photographs, artifacts, coat of arms and natural elements.
Shpanin has exhibited work in the United States, France, Italy, Israel and Russia. His work is in the collections of the Jasper Rand Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Russian Art, and the museum of Maccabi Games, as well as numerous private collections, including former U.S. President George W. Bush and President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan. In 2014, Shpanin became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford.
Stass Shpanin taught and lectured in different institutions including Westfield State University, Hartford Art School of the University of Hartford and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT).
Interesting facts
After professional successes of the artist early career, the committee of the Guinness Book of World Records decides to name Stass Shpanin at the age of 12 as the Worlds Youngest Professional Artist (to have his paintings purchased and displayed by museums, galleries, and private collections), 2002.