"Most of the art galleries don't encourage young artists simply because they don't want to take a risk,"said Donna Agnew, owner of Artmosphere Gallery in Boston. Agnew said she shared this reluctance until she saw the work of Stanislav "Stass" Shpanin, a MacDuffie School student, who moved to America from Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2005.

The paintings are "joyous, colorful and not typical," she said.

The public will have a chance to see Shpanin and his work during a one-day exhibition at 295 Franklin St. in Boston on Sept. 9, starting at 8:30 p.m.

Shpanin, who lives with his mother, Milena Shpanin, in Springfield, has already achieved certain success internationally. In 2002, at age 12, he was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world's youngest professional artist. He has had solo shows in Azerbaijan, Russia, France, Italy and Israel. His first American personal exhibition was held at a Maryland gallery three years ago, when Shpanin visited this country to receive the International Grand Prize of the eighth River of Words art and poetry contest, affiliated with the U.S. Library of Congress.

"We are bringing in some 40 of his paintings which will be available for sale at prices ranging from about $3,000 to $3,500 for the originals and about $800 for the giclee prints (the reproductions using a digital printmaking technology)," Agnew said.

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