PR-CANADA.net (press release)
April 13 2010

Jean Kazandjian Opening Reception This Weekend at Galerie Anais in Los
Angeles

Posted by mincho2008
Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Galerie Anais presents a new solo exhibition by the renowned artist
Jean Kazandjian that opens this weekend in Los Angeles at Bergamot
Station. Entitled Exploring the Depths of Perception: the Revealed and
the Unseen, the works in this two-part exhibition emphasize the
multiple layers of Kazandjian’s expression, ranging from the
three-dimensional screen paintings to playful interpretations of
American popular culture.

Jean Kazandjian moved to Paris in 1963 during the height of the
artistic revolution of the 20th century. As a consequence of the
Diaspora brought on by the Armenian genocide in Turkey, Kazandjian’s
family of Armenian descent had lived in Beirut.

Discovering his creative voice in Paris, Kazandjian’s paintings
evolved in an ongoing engagement to transcend the boundaries of
perception. As Kazandjian illuminates, "To me, painting came from the
recognition that nothing is eternal." Since moving to Southern
California in 2000, the interplay between surrealism and popular
culture has become an ongoing part of his work.

In Venus dancing with M., the largest painting at Galerie Anais,
Kazandjian mixes the classical sensuality of the European reclining
nude with silhouettes of Mickey Mouse. With a playful expression, a
modern Olympia beholds the popular kitsch of the new world. As
Kazandjian explains, "My work constantly rouses and goads the demons
of illusion and absurdity."

In his screen paintings, Kazandjian creates an intriguing depth
through the interaction of shadows and silhouettes. Since the early
1990s, the artist has been placing an almost imperceptible screen
about an inch and a half away from the painted canvas. Kazandjian
describes the process: "Things don’t have to appear immediately. I
want to show a part of it so someone can discover the rest."

Kazandjian’s collectors span the globe and his work has been shown
widely in Europe, the United States and Japan, both in public
institutions such as The Brooklyn Museum, New-York, Musée de
l’Athénée, Geneva, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, and private
galleries such as Galerie Jeanne, Munich, Galerie d’Orsay, Boston and
Galerie Furstenberg, Paris. The artist currently lives and works in
Venice, California.

A 320-page, fully illustrated, hard cover book containing his body of
work from the last ten years, accompanies the exhibition, which runs
from April 17, 2010 to May 18, 2010 at Galerie Anais.

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