Elena Bria

Biography

Elena BRIA was born in Moldova in 1992 and currently lives in Russia. Curator Ben Shattuck discovered her work in Saint Petersburg. In his words:

It was a freezing and snowy November night in Saint Petersburg when I met Elena on the steps of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Another painter had written days earlier, urging me to visit her studio. "She's the best at the Academy," he wrote. "Go see her." I sent her a message (translated into Russian), and we made plans to meet the night before I took the train to Moscow -- where I'd interview other artists. After passing through the imposing doors of the Imperial Academy, walking down the columned cloisters surrounding a snowy courtyard, climbing a drafty and stone staircase filled with Russian art students smoking in the dark, we finally arrived at the top floor. Her studio, she said as we walked in, was where Ilya Repin worked. Taking off my jacket, I told her I only had twenty minutes to look. Then she started pulling out paintings from the storage racks. I stayed for over an hour.

The Dedee Shattuck Gallery is excited to be the first gallery in the United States to show the work of Elena Bria, a painter whose career is sure to skyrocket. Her loose and precise brushwork reminds one of 19th-century American masters like John Singer Sargent. She will be part of the Young Russian Artists exhibit opening on May 25th (reception May 27th 5-7pm).