Biography from Chemers Gallery
Stevan Shapona (born 1956) is a native of San Francisco where he currently resides and works. Upon graduating from high school, he continued his education at Skyline College and completed his art studies at San Jose State University. His teachers included the well known Bay Area artists: Elizabeth Schmidt, Joseph Tutsch, Jim Promessi, Marjery Layton, Maynard Stewart, Wendel Gates, Raymond Brose, and Robert Seamens.
Upon completing artistic studies at San Jose State University, Mr. Shapona studied independently in New York City and Washington, D.C. More recently, Mr. Shapona was awarded first prize in oil painting at the “Society of Western Artists” exhibition, followed by a one man exhibit at the Phoenix Arts Association. His endeavors have extended to iconography, largely influenced by his father, Mr. Victor Shapona, a local artist and iconographer whose works are exhibited in many private homes and churches.
Stevan Shapona has currently completed a series of icons which have been permanently installed in the Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Moraga, California, for which he was awarded a study grant in Europe. In 1993, Kenneth Baker, prominent author and art critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, chose Stevan Shapona’s large oil painting “Standing Nude” out of 250 entries for the “Critic’s Choice Award” in the biannual “Lifelines Exhibition” at the Mendocino Art Center. This award was an extreme honor, as it signified Mr. Baker’s favorite in the exhibition, and included a cash prize. During the course of this exhibit, both of Mr. Shapona’s entries were purchased by collectors from Baltimore, MD, and New York City, respectively.
