Stefan Talian was born in 1979 in Michalovce, Slovakia (previously Czechoslovakia). He immigrated to the United States in 2003. On what was supposed to be a short visit to San Diego in 2010, he knew he had arrived at the place he would call home. It was here that he would become a naturalized citizen and discover his passion for painting.

Growing up, Talian always enjoyed sketching and creating art but did not recognize it as a viable way to make a living, instead choosing more pragmatic ways to survive. Struggling with his identity, learning to speak a new language, navigating a foreign culture, and trying to survive alone in a new country was emotionally draining. Unable to express himself proficiently in English, a friend suggested that he try painting in an effort to release his pent-up emotions.

It was then that he discovered the universal language of art and hasn’t stopped painting since.

A couple of years into his studio practice he met Hyacinthe Kuller Baron, an American Master Painter, who taught him how to free his hands from the brush and feel the canvas. Direct contact with the canvas brought a new level of depth and motion to his work. Hyacinthe’s freedom proved inspirational. Seeing how she approached her art and the successes she enjoyed gave Talian the motivation he needed to take the next step on his own artistic journey. Moving beyond his earlier works of bodies in motion, he began exploring the surging emotions that lay hidden within those bodies.