Scott Teplin had a fun but restless youth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While he largely avoided art classes, he began to shape his creative identity early on through other boundary testing endeavors like making fireworks and sewing his own eccentric outfits. These early playful, imaginative, and often risky pursuits continue to inform his work today.
Discovering the medium of watercolor as a viewer and emerging artist during a year of study in Europe was transformative for Teplin. The challenge of capturing a viewer's attention and drawing them into his imagination through this capricious medium was immediately exciting to him. This set him on a path that gained footing through a BS at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MFA in printmaking at the University of Washington.
Teplin has exhibited world-wide in Museums and commercial galleries since 1998. His work is included in the permanent collections of Museum of Modern Art (NY and SF), The New Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Spencer Art Museum, Walker Art Center, Smithsonian Institution, Altoids Collection, New York Public Library, Phoenix Public Library, MIT, University of Virginia, Cornell University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, Wesleyan University, Stanford University, The California College of Arts and Crafts, University of Iowa, Occidental College, Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital, Turku University Hospital - Finland, Penn and Teller, and Progressive Insurance.