Victor Spahn was born on March 20, 1949 in Paris as a second generation Russian. After his secondary studies, he worked for a fabricator of mosaics and, for pleasure, composed his first mosaic wall. His painting and printmaking are a direct result of his extensive work in mosaic techniques. His style suggests movement and dynamism as he captures the essence of a particular moment. Spahn paints with a combination of palette knife and brush and enjoys great success in lithography, serigraphy, and in the creation of hand-embellished graphic works.
Often referred to as the “Painter of Movement”, Victor is inspired by sports, dancers, and energetic activities. He paints championship sail boat races, rugby matches, prima ballerinas, and tennis stars – each with the same individual grace and swift motion.
Spahn has participated in many exhibitions, including the Salon of Independent Artists, France, in 1970. He also won first prize in New York for a mosaic table. Personal exhibitions followed in Paris in 1976 for the Societe Toyota; Galerie Wally Findlay, Chicago; and Palm Beach, Florida, in 1984. In 1981, he designed the set for the televised play “Rembrandt of Glass” and created a poster for the world championship of handball in 1988.
Spahn has enjoyed the publication of a hardcover book on his work. He created the cover for the 100th anniversary Michelin Guide for L’Astrance and his serigraph “Autumn Polo” was acquired by Jacques Chirac, President of France. Spahn was the guest of honor at the 42nd International Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture “Art Movement” in Sainte-Maure de Touraine in 2011. In 2012, he was a guest of honor at Amiens, at Ribemont-sur-Ancre and an Ambassador of the Lexus GS 450, partnering with Lexus.
In 2012, Spahn was a guest of honor at Amiens, at Ribemont-sur-Ancre. He was honored by the French government when they named a newly built housing community after him; his name now appears alongside buildings named after Henri Matisse, Camille Claudel, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Louis Pasteur and Thomas Edison.
In 2013, Spahn moved his studio to the Montparnasse district of Paris, into a work space that had once belonged to Tsuguharu Foujita, a great impressionist painter. His work was featured in the prestigious Polo Paris, a private sports club and only polo club based in Paris. For the second year in row, Spahn has participated in an exhibition organized by the French Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs benefiting the injured and families of fallen soldiers, a cause that is close to his heart. His artwork for this event was also selected to be the poster for 2013.
In 2015, Spahn had the honor of being mentioned alongside artists such as Marc Chagall, Victor Vasarley and Jack Pollock in the publication “Gordes: Le temps des artistes.” This last book in a trilogy chronicles the talented artists related to Gordes, a commune located in the Provencde-Alpes-Cote in southeastern France.
