Shane Guffogg was born in Los Angeles, California and raised on an exotic bird farm in the San Joaquin Valley. His interest in painting began while a teenager, when he traveled to Europe and the former Soviet Union and was exposed to the Masters. He received his B.F.A. from Cal Arts, and during his studies he interned with Gary Stephan. He relocated to Los Angeles, where he lived in Venice Beach and worked as a Studio Assistant for Ed Ruscha from 1989 until 1995. His work began exploring the iconography of Ancient, Classical, Renaissance, Modern and Contemporary cultures, and the relationships among the various times and people. During this exploration he found that painting is one of the few art forms that may express what language cannot.
