2006 M.F.A. Media Arts, University of Colorado at Boulder, CO, USA
2001 B.A. Studio Art, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL, USA
1996 Diploma, St. Petersburg Fine Art Lyceé, St. Petersburg, Russia

Yana Payusova was born in Leningrad, USSR. Classically trained as a painter at the St. Petersburg Fine Art Lyceé, she later immigrated to the U.S.   She received an MFA in New Media from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Payusova’s paintings and sculptures blend the styles and symbols of folk art, Russian icons, graphic poster art, illustration, and comics, and reflect Payusova’s cultural heritage and her training in traditional Russian realist painting. Payusova exhibits both nationally and internationally, including recent venues at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Howard Yezerski Gallery (Boston), Mimi Ferzt Gallery (NYC) and Galerie Caprice Horn (Berlin). She currently teaches at the University of Arizona in Tucson.