Ivan Suvanjieff

Ivan Suvanjieff was born in Michigan with a club foot. He has epilepsy. He thought you might like some details. He enjoys it when life interrupts art.

Ivan's family moved to Ontario for 10 years where he learned to speak the Queen's English and drink. Before he was out of high school, he worked on the Ford assembly line where he balanced and timed motors.

In the late 1970s, he fronted two punk bands, The Ramrods and The 27.

Ivan did time at Creem Magazine where he interviewed big rock stars such as Iggy Pop, and helped interview some guy from Rush. Ivan's favorite interview was with filmmaker John Waters.

He moved to Denver in 1985 where he worked at restaurants, book stores, etc. He had a severe drug and alcohol addiction.

He went to rehab before it was cool.

In 1986, he began working with watercolor.

In 1988, Ivan began painting in black and white. He spent 12 years painting in black and white so he could learn color.

He edited The New Censorship where he published Lucia Berlin, Charles Bukowski, Andrei Codrescu, Alex Katz, Anne Waldman, Allen Ginsberg, Kathy Acker, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Francesco Clemente, and many more.

The New Censorship cranked out over 50 issues.

In 1994, he and Dawn Gifford Engle invented PeaceJam, a program where Nobel Peace Laureates work directly with young people to help change the world. The program is 25 years old. PeaceJam has been nominated a myriad of times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Ivan and Dawn have been nominated 17 times by Nobel Peace Laureates.

He continued to paint in black and white.

Ivan and Dawn later moved to the far northeastern tip of the Costa Brava.

He began painting in color.

Coffee, giraffes, a cluster of cacti, that piece of broken glass on the street, a dirty t-shirt, cats...

Sincerely, 

Detective Duane Eaton, Arvada P.D.

P.S. The Coen Brothers based 'The Dude' on Ivan's friend Jeff Dowd. "Don't bother telling your story," Jeff told Ivan, “no one would believe it."

2022 Annual Festival of Alternative Art, Yerevan, Armenia

2022 Digital Chroma Agency, Berlin, Germany

2021 “Quanta Dada" Solo Exhibition in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France

2021 Boomer Gallery, London, UK 

2021 Art Nou-Millenni, Barcelona, Spain

1994 Mackey Gallery, Denver, Colorado

1993 Boulder Artists Gallery, Boulder, Colorado

1992 Boulder Artists Gallery, Boulder, Colorado

1991 Hassel Haeseler Gallery, Denver, Colorado

The Design Alliance, Denver, Colorado

The Baker Gallery, Loveland, Colorado

Pirate: a Contemporary Art Oasis, Denver, Colorado

ART PUBLICATIONS

Al Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine, “Interview Ivan Suvanjieff", February 2022

Artistonish Magazine, January 2022

NNC Gallery Magazine, “Challenge 21 Winners", January 2022

Le Petit Journal de Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferret, “Ivan Suvanjieff Dadaism Still Living…“, July 2021

Nice-Matin, “Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferret revisits Dadaism with Ivan Suvanjieff", June 2021

Royal Monaco, “Quanta Dada by Ivan Suvanjieff", June 2021

StarTribune, “Artist's First European Exhibition", May 2021

Daily Herald, “Quanta Dada par Ivan Suvanjieff", May 2021

Reach for the Sun, Charles Bukowski: “To Ivan Suvanjieff", 1999

Rocky Mountain News, Mary Voelz Chandler: “Review", 1994 

Colorado Arts, Tom Auer: “The Road is All", 1994

The Denver Post, Maureen Harrington: “Ivan: High Priest of Hip", 1994

Hyperion Books, Andrei Codrescu: “Scholar: Coast to Coast…", 1993

Rocky Mountain News, Bill Husted: “NFR Iconoclast's View of Denver..", 1993

Bombay Gin, Cover Art, 1993

Rocky Mountain News, Marilyn Mason: “Ivan Suvanjieff Black & White", 1993

Colorado Arts, Tree Bernstein: “Looking for Sheer Poetry…", 1993

Rocky Mountain News, M.S. Mason: “Black Velvet Provokes Thought", 1993

Jcon', David Thomas: “Ivan Suvanjieff & The New Censorship", 1992

Photo District News, Janet Singleton: Stark Raving Art Party, 1990

Muse, Kathleen Cain: “Making Great Strides in Contemporary…", 1990

Colorado Home & Lifestyles, Valerie Hanis: “People to Watch", 1990

COLLECTIONS

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat Museum 

Elmore Leonard, Private Collection

Lucia Berlin, Private Collection 

Andrei Codrescu, Private Collection 

Jennifer and Edward Dorn, Private Collection

Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate, Private Collection

Jane and Anselm Hollo, Private Collection

EARLY ART CAREER

Black and White Series

AWARDS / DISTINCTIONS

2005-2021 Seventeen Nobel Peace Prize nominations by the Nobel Peace Laureates themselves

2005 Man of Peace Award, Awarded by Mikhail Gorbachev, World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

2008 Harris Woffard Service-Learning Award, National Youth Leadership Council

2013 Servant Leader Award, National Youth Leadership Council

2015 Audience Award, Harlem International Film Festival, “Children of the Light"

Best Documentary Award, Great Lakes Christian Film Festival, “Children of the Light"

2016 Excellence in Social Innovation, Golden Globe Tiger Awards  

Ambassadors of Peace, Westword Magazine

Award of Merit, Headline International Film Festival, “Adolfo Perez Esquivel: Rivers of Hope"

Best Documentary Award, Harlem International Film Festival, “Adolfo Perez Esquivel: Rivers of Hope"

Best Film, World Humanitarian Awards, “Adolfo Perez Esquivel: Rivers of Hope"

Humanitarian Award, ModCon London Film Festival, “Rigoberta Menchu: Daughter of the Maya"

Special Recognition, Imperial Valley Film Festival, “Rigoberta Menchu: Daughter of the Maya" 

2017 Best Documentary, North Dakota Human Rights Film & Arts Festival, “Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired"

Best Documentary Award, London Independent Film Awards, “Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired"

Best Film Award, Mexico International Film Festival, “Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired"

2018 Audience Award, Film Girl Film Festival, “Betty Williams: Contagious Courage"

Best Documentary, Festigious International Film Festival, “Betty Williams: Contagious Couarge"

2019 Gold Winner, International Independent Film Awards, “Betty Williams: Contagious Courage"

Best Documentary Award, London Independent Film Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Award of Superiority, Microfilmmaker Magazine Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist" 

Best Documentary Nominee, Near Nazareth Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist" 

Best Documentary, Picasso Einstein Buddha International Film Fest, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist“

Best of Fest, SNOB Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary, SNOB Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary, Spotlight Documentary Film Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Silver Award, Virgin Spring Cinefest, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist“

2020 Award of Excellence, Accolade Competition, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Festival Prize, Around International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Outstanding Achievement, Berlin Flash Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Award of Excellence, Cinema World Fest Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best of Show, Depth of Field International Film Competition, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best of Show, Dreamachine International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary, DRUK International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Feature Film Nominee, First-Time Filmmaker Sessions, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary, Five Continents International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist

Festival Award, Hollywood Women's Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Award of Excellence, Impact Docs Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Film, IndieFEST Film Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Honorary Mention, Lift-Off Global Network, London, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Gold Winner, Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Feature, Pickurflick Indie Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

2021 Best Documentary Award, Aiyan Film Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Award, The Prague International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Award, Indo Singapore International, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Feature Producer, Marina Independent Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Feature Film, Marina Independent Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Feature Documentary, Rome International Movie Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary, Pure Magic International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Feature Documentary, Best Istanbul Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary, Mokkho International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist" 

Best Documentary, American Golden Picture International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Feature Film, Aiyan Film Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Historical Film, Brussels Capital Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Feature Documentary, White Unicorn International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Feature Film, Halicarnassus Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Science & Technology Film, Cannes World Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Film, Cannes World Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Educational Film, Cannes World Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Film, Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

 Best Documentary Feature Film, ISMovieFest, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Film, Best Beyond the Curve Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best International Feature Film, Uruvatti International Film Festival, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Best Documentary Feature Film, Uruvatti Documentary Feature Film, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

Only the Best Award, OTB Only the Best Film Awards, “The Dalai Lama: Scientist"

2022 Finalist, Grey Cube Gallery Abstract Art Show

Winner, NNC, Challenge 21

FILMOGRAPHY:

TELEVISION

2003 BBC HARDtalk: Nobel Dialogue Part One, Associate Producer 

BBC HARDtalk: Nobel Dialogue Part Two, Associate Producer

BBC HARDtalk: Jose Ramos Horta, Associate Producer

BBC HARDtalk: The Dalai Lama, Associate Producer

FEATURE FILMS

2003 PeaceJam, Executive Producer 

2010 2012: The True Mayan Prophecy, Executive Producer, Cinematographer, Writer

2012 Mayan Renaissance, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

2014 Children of the Light, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

2015 Adolfo Perez Esquivel: Rivers of Hope, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

2016 Rigoberta Menchu: Daughter of the Maya, Executive Producer 

2017 Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

2018 Betty Williams: Contagious Courage, Executive Producer 

2019 The Dalai Lama: Scientist, Executive Producer 

2022 Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free, Executive Producer 

OTHER FILMS 

1979 Face the 80s, Director & Cinematographer 

2008 Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, Cinematographer 

2011 Jesus vs. Bono, Executive Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Writer 

2014 Detroit Punks: John Brannon, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

2015 Detroit Punks: The Gories, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

Detroit Punks: Jerry Vile, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

Detroit Punks: Hiawatha Bailey, Executive Producer, Cinematographer 

2019 Creem: America's Only Rock n Roll Magazine, Cinematographer

MUSIC

The Ramrods, Vocal Stylings

The 27, Vocal Stylings

PRESENTATIONS

2013 Social Innovation Summit, United Nations NYC

2015 Ted X Talk, The Netherlands

PUBLICATIONS

Creem Magazine, Associate Editor, Birmingham, Michigan

The New Censorship, Editor, Denver, Colorado

PeaceJam: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace, Author, Penguin Press 2008

ARTICLES

“Remembering Desmond Tutu, Superstar of PeaceJam", Westword Magazine, 2022

“My Last Restaurant Job: Cliff Young's", Westword Magazine, 2021

“Op-Ed: Epileptics, Please Raise Your Hands and Stand Together!", Westword Magazine, 2019

“Three Cheers for the Social Innovation Summit", Huffington Post, 2013

“Raw Power", The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story, 2009

“Iggy Pop: Solider of the Dog Chow Apocalypse", CREEM: America's Only Rock 'N' Roll Magazine, 2007

TEACHING / NONPROFIT EXPERIENCE 

1994 Beats and Other Rebel Angels: A Tribute to Allen Ginsberg, Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado 

1996 The PeaceJam Foundation, Founder, Denver, Colorado

OTHER

Worked on the line at Ford Motor Company

Thomas Video, World's First Video Rental Store 

Maximus & Company Book Sellers, Birmingham, Michigan

Busboy & Valet, various fine dining establishments