WORKS OF CARZOU SHOWCASED IN LA CAñADA
By Carol Cormaci
Valley Sun, CA
Nov 1 2007
For the past five years Linda Stepanian has been focused on building
a collection of the works of renowned French Armenian artist Jean
Carzou (1907-2000); this month she will share them with the public
at her La Cañada art gallery, Stephanie’s.
The show evolved after Stepanian met the late artist’s son, the writer
Jean-Marie Carzou, and became intrigued with the idea of displaying
original Jean Carzou oil paintings, watercolors and drawings locally.
"I was very honored to meet with his son and do this project together
with him," Stepanian said. "Once I found out that Carzou’s 100th
birthday would have been this year, I thought it would be a very good
idea to do this show, to bring the opportunity to people – and other
artists – to see some of his original works."
Carzou, born in Syria, moved to Paris at the age of 17 to study art
and architecture. After graduating from Lycee, he left architecture
behind, studied painting in Montparnasse studios and became a street
artist. His art was first shown in 1930 at the Salon des Indepents; his
first one-man show was held nine years later in a Rue de Seine gallery.
As his body of work grew, accolades began coming his way. He was the
three-time winner of the Hallmark Prize and also won the Gran Prix de
I’lle-de-France in 1954, Grand Prize for National Education, Tokyo,
in 1955 and Grand Prix "Europe" at the first Bruges Biennial in 1958.
He was the only living artist to be honored by the French by having
his artwork printed on a postage stamp in 1976 and he was decorated
with the prestigious National Order of Merit. advertisement
Living in a time of many wars across the globe, Carzou was struck by
man’s inhumanity to man. His political views informed his artwork,
Stepanian said.
"He tried to express his love of humanity rather than the fight;
he tried to motivate others with his artwork," Stepanian said. "I’d
like to bring that message to the United States while our soldiers
are fighting for our freedoms."
Stephanie’s Art Gallery is located at 466 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada.
The show opens with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8 and runs through
Nov. 30. To learn more, call (818) 790-4905.
2007/11/01/entertainment/lent-stephanies1101.txt
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From: Baghdasarian