The Armenian Studies Program web page is sponsored by a grant from
The Bertha and John Garabedian Charitable
Foundation, Fresno.
Fresno Gallery 25 welcomed
21-year-old artist Hrach Vardanyan from
Vardanyan is part of an
artist exchange between
Vardanyan is a young,
talented artist
who studies at an
Vardanyan’s artwork is
unique
and original. Using a mixture of light and dark colors, bold lines, pen
and ink applied like paint, as well as people and animals,
Vardanyan is able to
create abstract, surreal, and conceptual artwork.
“My artwork is making a
statement about the human struggle,” Vardanyan
said. Vardanyan depicts the
internalities and externalities of the human struggle, which can manifest
itself in politics, war, and in
the human spirit. Drawing on experiences from his home country
of
Vardanyan uses symbols,
such as animals and chairs, and compares people and nature with them. Take for instance a piece of his entitled Turtle
Carrying City. In this piece, a massive turtle is shown carrying a
metropolis on its
back. The turtle is symbolic of earth, and the city is
symbolic of people. “Turtles live a long time and so are able to gain
wisdom;
people need to be like turtles and take in knowledge of the world in
which they live in so as not to be indifferent to what’s around
them,”
commented the artist.
At the exhibition, the
majority of his art was centered on dogs.
But not real dogs, they were fantasy
dogs. Why dogs? “A dog is a city
animal, coming and going as he pleases, and a city is symbolic to life, to the
political struggle that
people experience throughout the world,” explained
Vardanyan. According to Vardanyan, people act like dogs at times, relying only
on
instincts and choosing to be indifferent to the realities of life. A great
example of this was seen in his piece entitled Gaze. Gaze is
seen
from a dog’s perspective; the artist used heavy, thick metallic lines to the
point that all one is able to see is metallic. The
point: people should not
view the world in a thick fog; instead they need to lift their heads and see
beyond the “fog.”
Another impressive
display
at the exhibit was the Hierarchy of Sitting Places. In this display, a
myriad of chairs were drawn on yellow and green napkins,
with each napkin
having one chair each. The chairs ranged
from toilet seats to wooden chairs. The chairs are symbolic of places, the
places
in which people become comfortable.
Their statement: people should not become comfortable in one chair
because there are many “chairs”
many places in the world for people to become
aware of.
One important aspect
displayed at Vardanyan’s art exhibit was his sketches. Vardanyan
displayed his
sketches with his final pieces because to him, “it is important for people to
see the process that is involved in creating.”
Vardanyan
is sensitive to his sketches, as he explained, “my real
feelings are in my sketches as they are the foundation that led up to my finished
creation.”
Vardanyan uses his artwork
to make a statement about the internalities and externalities of the human
struggle in which everyone experiences.
He uses symbols, such as animals, to
make his point come across. For Vardanyan, art is his life. “My art comes from
my heart, it’s my
feelings and if I am able to change one persons viewpoint,
than I have accomplished something.”
After