BIOGRAPHY - Shana Levenson

Shana Levenson is a representational painter from Albuquerque, NM.  Her passion for the arts led her to pursue a BA in Fashion Design from The University of Texas, in Austin, and after the birth of her children in 2009 and 2010, an MFA in Fine Art Painting from the Academy of Art University, in San Francisco.

Shana’s work focuses on storytelling with the figure as well as contemporary mylar balloons.  Her inspiration for her figurative comes from painting people who are important in her life, and her goal is to capture each person’s story in an honest and meaningful way. Shana draws inspiration from her own experiences and uses specific series as a way to illustrate chapters in her life.  The power of the work captures what’s happening right now, in the moment, and documents its meaningfulness in a memorable way. Shana hopes that her legacy from her work will be a time capsule of the world around us, through her eyes, spanning her lifetime.

In her collection of word balloons, she’s playing with the artificiality of mylar and the natural element of flowers. By painting these mylar word balloons hyper-realistically and the flower backgrounds slightly softer, Shana is playing with the juxtaposition of the longevity of mylar and the fragility of a flower.  While both objects are given at times of need, whether it’s a celebration or sending condolences, both items are gifted to send a message to someone we care about.  And while both, when given, can bring great meaning to a person, words tend to last longer when said in a certain context.

Along with a busy painting and exhibition schedule, Shana teaches workshops internationally as well as mentoring students online.  She currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her kids and husband, artist David Kassan.  Shana’s works can be seen in regular exhibitions across the United States and abroad.