| Ivan Martin Mikan was born on December 13, 1977 in Chicago to Joseph and Stana Mikan. His mother named him after her two favorite brothers. Ivan was raised in Chicago's Edgewater community in a CHA building for senior citizens. He had been teaching himself how to draw since the first time he held a pencil, and by the age of eight was able to draw portraits from photos and copy his favorite comics. Ivan attended highschool at Archbishop Quigely in Chicago's downtown area. At this time, he also began working at Gallery 37 as an apprentice artist. Gallery 37 is a program started by Maggie Daley, that hires talented teenagers interested in art and music. At Gallery 37 Ivan had the opportunity to work with artists from all around the world and learn more about his craft as an artist. This site includes some of his better work from that time period (1992-96). Upon graduating from Quigley, Ivan attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but would later transfer to the University of Illinois at Chicago. At UIC he studied under many accomplished artists such as Phylis Bramson and Kerry James Marshell. After receiving his Bachlor's Degree in Fine Arts and Education, Ivan went on to start an art program at Goethe, a Chicago Public School. After one year of teaching art at Goethe, Ivan decided to devote more of his time to making art and became a full-time artist. |