ARTIST FINDS REBIRTH IN NEW WESTON LIBRARY EXHIBIT
By Cheryl Balian Scaparrotta/ correspondent

Weston Town Crier, MA
Oct 6 2005

The Weston Public Library has earned a reputation among Boston-area
artists as a supportive outlet for public exhibits, and this month
is no different. A unique series of prints are on display this month
that combine the methods of printmaking, painting and drawing.

“These works were made when I returned to art again after a long
hiatus,” said John Avakian, an artist from Sharon whose monoprints and
monotypes are on display through Oct. 28. “My work is about playing
with color and texture.”

Avakian explains that a monotype is created by putting a paint image
on Plexiglas or aluminum. While the paint is still wet, it is covered
with paper and put on a press.

“You adjust the pressure with rollers, and the image becomes
transferred to paper,” he said.

The most basic type of monoprint is a handprint or footprint. No two
prints are ever alike, and the appeal of the monotype is a translucency
that creates a quality of light different from a painting on paper.

This brand of creativity is a slight departure from what is normally
found in the library’s exhibit space.

“We receive work from painters, sculptors and photographers most of
the time, so we enjoyed seeing another medium,” said Rebekah Lord
Gardiner, chair of the arts and exhibitions committee at the library.

“One of the purposes of the committee is to exhibit work that people
may not be familiar with. And being a printmaker myself, I’m very
excited for library patrons to be exposed to such prints.”

Avakian calls the collection of 18 works at the library “the rebirth
of celebration series.” While his compositions are mostly abstract,
a few contain literal images.

“One is titled ‘Cupid Enters the Ruins,’ and it’s a metaphor for
several things,” he explained. “One of those is the falling apart
of my own life, which is why I took a hiatus from art, and another
alludes to the Armenian Genocide, which my parents survived while
their families were wiped out.”

But, he is quick to add, “It’s a celebration series because I came
back into art.”

Avakian, who originally hails from Worcester, will be at the Weston
Public Library on Sunday, Oct. 9 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. to meet the
public.