May 2, 2009

to

May 30, 2009

The Westfield Athenaeum 6 Elm Street will be presenting the works of artist Stass Shpanin in the Jasper Rand Art Museum May 2 – May 30.
The Jasper Rand Art Museum, located on the main floor, is open during all hours of the Athenaeum.
                          A special opening reception for the exhibit will be held on
                                        Saturday, May 2 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
The public is cordially invited to attend the reception to meet the artist and view his artworks.

Stass Shpanin, who resides in West Springfield, was born on May 16, 1990 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Stass immigrated to the United States with his family in 2005. He was a student at the MacDuffie School, from which he graduated in 2008. He is now a student at the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford (CT).

Eighteen-year-old Shpanin is an internationally recognized artist.
In 2002, at the age of 12, he was listed in the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the Youngest Professional Artist in the World. By that time, he had already exhibited in ten solo shows throughout the world, including Israel, Russia, Italy, Azerbaijan, England, France and the U.S.

The winner of numerous art competitions, he won the 2002 International Grand Prize at the River of Words environmental poetry and art contest, conducted in affiliation with The Library of Congress Center for the Book. Shpanin’s works are on display at the Museum of Contemporary Russian Art in New Jersey, the Museum of Energy and Honor in Hadera, Israel, the Museum of Honor of the World Maccabi Games in Jerusalem, Israel, and the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan. His paintings can be found in the collections of President George W. Bush, President Heydar Aliev of Azerbaijan, and in numerous other private collections. In 2001, he was the only foreign citizen included in the Union of Israeli Artists.
More information about Stass is available at http://www.artstassworld.com/.

In May of 2003, “The Washington Post” observed that Shpanin, “paints brilliantly hued still lifes and vivid street scenes, draws sure-handed pencil sketches and composes swirling and unsettling abstract images.”“National Geographic” (May 2004) pointed out “Why he is cool: Stass is the International Grand Prize winner of a River of Words art contest.
His winning painting, “The River is the Basis of Life”, has three layers: underwater, earth and space. They symbolize how everything is connected to the water.”

“The Republican” (November 2007) concluded: “His use of color has been compared to that of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, although the artist said he is partial to the Italian painter Modigliani.”
For more information and interviews, please call the Westfield Athenaeum at 413-562-0716.