Ilya Shkipin (Russian-American, b. 1989)is a multidisciplinary artist and illustrator who combines gestural paint application with machine learning to create figurative paintings that blur illusion and reality.He places anguished, dreamlike figures in distorted, empty spaces where subjects and surroundings blend together, evoking memories drifting in and out of consciousness.,Based in Patterson, California,he holds a BFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art in San Francisco.,
Shkipin's father and grandfather were both artists, and he has said “the desire to create came naturally to me”.In 2008 he was a finalist in the Illustrators of the Future contest, a juried award for emerging illustrators.He names the painters Frank Auerbach, Richard Diebenkorn and Francis Bacon among his influences, drawn to their gritty and unsettling imagery.Shkipin held his first solo exhibition, “Transfusion”, at the Academy of Art in 2015. He went on to show at Hang Art gallery, including “Patient” in 2018, and in the “de Young Open Exhibition” in 2020.He was introduced to neural networks by Nikita Panin and began incorporating them into his painting practice, though he has said “I am still a painter at heart” even when using AI.
Shkipin released Eyes Wide Shut on Foundation, a series of portraits combining AI and painting that range from sensual to disturbing.His self-portrait Exposed appeared in “E-motions”, a group show curated by Claire Silver. The work explores human fragility and vulnerability, evoking a paradoxical isolation within a hyper-connected world. His paintings have circulated on curated platforms including SuperRare, Objkt and Foundation.Beyond painting, Shkipin performs as the bassist and singer of the indie rock band The Laytcomers, extending to music the same exploration of human experience and memory found in his visual work.,
