Arsen Kurbanov was born in Mahachkala, Dagestan. In 1988 he completed coursework at the Jamal Dagestan Art College, receiving a red diploma - a symbol of scholastic excellence.
Kurbanov was immediately accepted into the Repin Institute in St. Petersburg, where he studied with the late Neprintsov, graduating in 1994.
Kurbanov strives to combine the techniques of the old masters - Pieter de Hooch and Vermeer are two of his favorites - with a contemporary, personal sense of imagery.