🍁 New York’s fall season opens at a sprint. To mark it, we are pleased to present an engaging dialogue between artists Eleanor Mahin Thorp and Stass Shpanin, with Plato Gallery founder Elena Platonova.
Moderated by art collector and investor JC Kwok, the panel will explore the inspiration, meaning, and deeper explorations that the artists are pursuing, and how they incorporate the impact of technology into their works. Collectors will hear about the intentionality behind their work, and insights into today’s dynamic climate. Elena will also share about the future of the contemporary art market, and advice for collectors engaging with artists.
Why Attend?
🤝 Network – Connect with like-minded finance & tech professionals who share a passion for art
🔍 Learn – Gain insights into the fundamentals of art collecting, valuation, and market trends
🖼 Engage – Experience direct interaction with leading galleries, artists, and industry experts
🕛 Space is limited—reserve your spot and continue your journey through the Art of Collecting Art series with us.
Agenda
6:15 PM – Doors Open
6:30 PM – Main Program Starts
8:00 PM – Event Wrap-Up
Panelists
Elena Platonova founded PLATO to cultivate intercultural dialogue. The contemporary art gallery focuses on artists with diverse cultural, ethnic, and national backgrounds—welcoming “the mixed types, the misfits, multihyphenates, immigrants, hybrids and those who can see the world through the eyes of the other.” Elena has lived in the US, Europe, and Eurasia. Before founding PLATO, she was a director at Almine Rech, The Hole, and Sundaram Tagore, and has written about and appraised art, running a museums tour and collecting advisory. She received her BA with honors from Lomonosov Moscow State University and an MA in the history of art from the Courtauld Institute of Art. She speaks six languages.
Eleanor Mahin Thorp is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY, who grew up in Utah. She received her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University and her BFA from Weber State University. Solo exhibitions include: Bend of the Southern Cross, PLATO, New York (2025); Friends of My Luonto, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond (2025); Metopic Ridge, Tephra ICA, Washington, DC (2023); Earth Blossom (dual with Ali Kaeini), 1708 Gallery, Richmond (2023); and Blast Zone, The Anderson Gallery, Richmond (2022). Residencies include Yellowstone Art Museum (2025), Wassaic Projects, La Wayaka, Monson Arts, Banff Centre (2024), Arteles (2023), and Visual Arts Center of Richmond (2022). Honors include the VMFA Fellowship (2023), VCU Arts Faculty Research Grant (2023), and VCCA Artist Fellowship (2023). Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and Anarchist Review of Books. She teaches at City College (CUNY).
Stass Shpanin lives and works in Philadelphia. He received his MFA in painting from the Tyler School of Art (Temple University) and his BFA from Hartford Art School. Selected solo exhibitions: PORTALS, Phillips Museum of Art, Lancaster (2024); We the Turkey, James Wise Gallery, Norfolk State University (2023); Dance of Birth, ToBE Gallery, Bern (2021); Predicting the Past, Gridchinhall Art Center, Moscow (2015); Displacement, Five Points Center for the Visual Arts, Torrington (2014). Selected group exhibitions: Exaltation, PLATO, New York (2025); Biennial: ART+AI (2025); Mining the Form, Delaware Contemporary (2023); Voices: Immigration, Pauly Friedman Art Gallery (2021); NBMAA GALA (2018); A Story of a Story, Smack Mellon (2015). Awards include Rutgers Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity, a U.S. Department of State Federal Assistance Award, and a Fulbright Fellowship to Russia. He is Associate Teaching Professor of Art at Rutgers University–Camden.
Host and Organizers
The Noeme Foundation is a non-profit organization that fosters meaningful connections between the worlds of art, technology, business, and culture. We create experiences that bridge disciplines—bringing together collectors, creatives, and curious minds through intimate gatherings, curated exhibitions, and thoughtful dialogue.
Trampoline is a consultancy focused on partnering with technology founders and leaders through workshops, panels, and community events related to personal and career growth. Trampoline is founded by Elaine Truong and JC Kwok, who are tech leaders at Meta and Google, and are avid collectors, advisors, angel investors, and LPs in venture capital firms across the US and Asia.
Plato Gallery is a contemporary art gallery founded by Elena Platonova with the goal of cultivating intercultural dialogue. It mainly focuses on the work of artists with diverse cultural, ethnic and national backgrounds, who maintain continuity with the traditions of art history while creating new ones. PLATO particularly welcomes the mixed types, the misfits, multihyphenates, immigrants, hybrids and those who can see the world through the eyes of the other.
Insiders’ Guide to the Collector’s Eye - Intersections of Art & Technology
Hosts
Thu, Sep 18, 06:30 PM - 08:00 PM (EDT)
To be shared on approval (New York)
40 attendees
🍁 New York’s fall season opens at a sprint. To mark it, we are pleased to present an engaging dialogue between artists Eleanor Mahin Thorp and Stass Shpanin, with Plato Gallery founder Elena Platonova.
Moderated by art collector and investor JC Kwok, the panel will explore the inspiration, meaning, and deeper explorations that the artists are pursuing, and how they incorporate the impact of technology into their works. Collectors will hear about the intentionality behind their work, and insights into today’s dynamic climate. Elena will also share about the future of the contemporary art market, and advice for collectors engaging with artists.
Why Attend?
🤝 Network – Connect with like-minded finance & tech professionals who share a passion for art
🔍 Learn – Gain insights into the fundamentals of art collecting, valuation, and market trends
🖼 Engage – Experience direct interaction with leading galleries, artists, and industry experts
🕛 Space is limited—reserve your spot and continue your journey through the Art of Collecting Art series with us.
Agenda
6:15 PM – Doors Open
6:30 PM – Main Program Starts
8:00 PM – Event Wrap-Up
Panelists
Elena Platonova founded PLATO to cultivate intercultural dialogue. The contemporary art gallery focuses on artists with diverse cultural, ethnic, and national backgrounds—welcoming “the mixed types, the misfits, multihyphenates, immigrants, hybrids and those who can see the world through the eyes of the other.” Elena has lived in the US, Europe, and Eurasia. Before founding PLATO, she was a director at Almine Rech, The Hole, and Sundaram Tagore, and has written about and appraised art, running a museums tour and collecting advisory. She received her BA with honors from Lomonosov Moscow State University and an MA in the history of art from the Courtauld Institute of Art. She speaks six languages.
Eleanor Mahin Thorp is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY, who grew up in Utah. She received her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University and her BFA from Weber State University. Solo exhibitions include: Bend of the Southern Cross, PLATO, New York (2025); Friends of My Luonto, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond (2025); Metopic Ridge, Tephra ICA, Washington, DC (2023); Earth Blossom (dual with Ali Kaeini), 1708 Gallery, Richmond (2023); and Blast Zone, The Anderson Gallery, Richmond (2022). Residencies include Yellowstone Art Museum (2025), Wassaic Projects, La Wayaka, Monson Arts, Banff Centre (2024), Arteles (2023), and Visual Arts Center of Richmond (2022). Honors include the VMFA Fellowship (2023), VCU Arts Faculty Research Grant (2023), and VCCA Artist Fellowship (2023). Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and Anarchist Review of Books. She teaches at City College (CUNY).
Stass Shpanin lives and works in Philadelphia. He received his MFA in painting from the Tyler School of Art (Temple University) and his BFA from Hartford Art School. Selected solo exhibitions: PORTALS, Phillips Museum of Art, Lancaster (2024); We the Turkey, James Wise Gallery, Norfolk State University (2023); Dance of Birth, ToBE Gallery, Bern (2021); Predicting the Past, Gridchinhall Art Center, Moscow (2015); Displacement, Five Points Center for the Visual Arts, Torrington (2014). Selected group exhibitions: Exaltation, PLATO, New York (2025); Biennial: ART+AI (2025); Mining the Form, Delaware Contemporary (2023); Voices: Immigration, Pauly Friedman Art Gallery (2021); NBMAA GALA (2018); A Story of a Story, Smack Mellon (2015). Awards include Rutgers Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity, a U.S. Department of State Federal Assistance Award, and a Fulbright Fellowship to Russia. He is Associate Teaching Professor of Art at Rutgers University–Camden.
Host and Organizers
The Noeme Foundation is a non-profit organization that fosters meaningful connections between the worlds of art, technology, business, and culture. We create experiences that bridge disciplines—bringing together collectors, creatives, and curious minds through intimate gatherings, curated exhibitions, and thoughtful dialogue.
Trampoline is a consultancy focused on partnering with technology founders and leaders through workshops, panels, and community events related to personal and career growth. Trampoline is founded by Elaine Truong and JC Kwok, who are tech leaders at Meta and Google, and are avid collectors, advisors, angel investors, and LPs in venture capital firms across the US and Asia.
Plato Gallery is a contemporary art gallery founded by Elena Platonova with the goal of cultivating intercultural dialogue. It mainly focuses on the work of artists with diverse cultural, ethnic and national backgrounds, who maintain continuity with the traditions of art history while creating new ones. PLATO particularly welcomes the mixed types, the misfits, multihyphenates, immigrants, hybrids and those who can see the world through the eyes of the other.