Garboushian Gallery premiers ‘1915’ exhibit

Garboushian Gallery will be presenting an exhibition featuring four contemporary artists of Armenian descent, entitled “1915,” Asbarez reports.

2015 is the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Throughout this year, Armenians all over the world are commemorating the loss of their ancestors. One hundred years ago, the destiny of all Armenians was forever changed. Since then, the identity of Armenians has evolved into something new, and through the contemporary lens of these four artists, we are better able to see that evolution.

Sev Black, Kaloust Guedel, Alina Mnatsakanian and Samvel Saghatelian have been brought together by their shared heritage and creative minds. Very different in style, execution and inspiration, these four artists have led similar paths to a similar reality. All four artists have found their personal vocation of creative expression through their journey of self discovery.

Touching on themes of identity, borders, and societal critique, these four artists are brought together in the exhibition “1915” to express the contemporary vantage point of their heritage as artists.

Sev Black, also known as Henrik Khachatryan, creates politically-charged artworks in many different media. Although he started off as a writer, his passion for creativity led his expression toward a more visual form in the 1980s, including sculpture, photography, performance, and video. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Narva City Museum in Estonia; Panevezhiss City Museum in Lithuania, and Museum of Contemporary Art of Madeline, Colombia. Sev lives and works in Los Angeles.

Kaloust Guedel explores capitalism and excess in his minimalist and conceptual artworks. Reflective and symbolic, Guedel’s pieces explore the relationship between materials, metaphors, and the spiritual and physical boundaries of painting. The excess of contemporary cultures is of great interest to Guedel, and can be seen in his fascinating artistic explorations. His work belongs to numerous collections all over the world, including The Charles Saatchi collection of London. He has been featured in such publications as Masters of Today, Trends and was recently featured on the cover of New American Paintings. Guedel lives and works in Los Angeles.

Alina Mnatsakanian focuses her energy in her multimedia artworks on the themes of identity and borders. Having grown up in many different places, Mnatsakanian’s journey to self discovery has been complex and difficult. Her artwork is multifaceted and is based in research, giving real facts, information, and references substantial weight in her works of art. Utilizing painting, sculpture, robotics, photography and video as well as installation, for this exhibition, Mnatsakanian exhibits “One person died” which commemorates the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide, one person at a time. The evolutive moving image is based on the repetition of the phrase “one person died” which is quantified with a counter. Garboushian Gallery is one venue out of 100 where this will be shown worldwide this year. Mnatsakanian uses her multimedia process to help create stronger links between different forms of expression and different concepts and themes to fullest. Mnatsakanian has received awards from The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and California Council for the Humanities, amongst many others. Though Mnatsakanian has lived all over the world, including in Los Angeles, she is currently living and working in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Samvel Saghatelian, also known as Sam Saga, creates many different kinds of work, including painting, drawing, installation, collage and installations. With a focus on emotional relationships and the personal reflections associated with nationality, identity and the human experience, Saghatelian creates work with a lyrical and narrative core at the base of his creations. His personal and political protest signs, designed as a visual hybrid text using both English and Armenian alphabets, will be on display alongside his narrative paintings in “1915.” Saghatelian was one of the artists representing the Armenian Pavilion in the 49th Venice Biennale in Italy. Saghatelian lives and works in Los Angeles.

An opening reception for “1915” will take place at Garboushian Gallery on Saturday, May 16, 2015 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. The exhibition will remain on view until June 12, 2015.