Anna Navasardian
dal 19/2/2014 al 21/3/2014
Segnalato da
19/2/2014
Anna Navasardian
Claire Oliver Gallery, New York
Black and White. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, the title makes reference to the complexity of the human condition. The Artist's signature style portraits explore life's small moments, looking to expose to the world that which we wish to hide from view.
Claire Oliver Gallery is proud to announce Black and White, the premier
solo exhibition with the gallery for Anna Navasardian. With tongue firmly
planted in cheek, the title makes reference to the complexity of the
human condition. The Artist's signature style portraits explore life's small
moments, looking to expose to the world that which we wish to hide
from view. Poking and prodding, the Artist strives to communicate the
intangibles: the depths of intimacy and the basic human desire for
connection with another. Fear, pain, grief, love, longing - all are
constants in our lives. Navasardian lays bare the complexities of human
emotion, on the canvas, for all to see.
Using both live models and Soviet era photographs brought to the US by her Armenian family, Navasardian's
studio practice involves both charcoal drawings and acrylic paintings. Working in strong contrasts of light
and shade, mass and void and angular slashing brushstrokes, the Artist's paintings pulsate with angst and
frustration. Navasardian points to the German Expressionists working at the turn of the 20th century—Max
Beckmann and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner—as major influences. These artists are known for their examination of
the human condition in works that range from the piercingly frank to the precariously bleak. Navasardian
finds herself naturally drawn to "the immediacy, the rawness" created in these darker works.
In Black and White, the Artist explores the idea of conflicting realities: the tension between how her subjects
exist in reality, their faults and ambitions on their sleeves, and how they imagine themselves or want to
appear in society. In turn amusing, awkward, and empathetic, Navasardian incorporates multiple subjects
culled from different sources, giving the groupings the sense of each subject's "alone and separateness"
even in a social setting. Setting up conflict and moving away from "posed" subjects, she speaks to contrived
versus perceived and how reality can become a performance beyond the moment.
Navasardian asserts that Warhol's ‘15 minutes of fame’ theory has been accelerated even further with the
advent of social media's instantaneous dissemination. The now common sentiment of spectacle and
humanity's increasingly discordant relationship with the world sets a perfect foil for introspection. Spectacles
are meant to be indulged and consumed; the Artist
questions what it means when we subscribe to
become spectacles, to offer ourselves to be
indulged and then ultimately consumed.
Recently named one of the top 25 artists under
twenty-five by Complex Magazine, Navasardian
graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a Bachelor of
Fine Arts in painting in 2010. While in attendance,
she was awarded the John L Porter Art Award for
outstanding students two years in a row.
Opening reception with the Artist: Thursday, February 20 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Claire Oliver Gallery
513 West 26th Street, New York
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Free Admission