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Samvel Hambardzumyan: art is his air! n Continued from page C5 big and beautiful, haunting and unlike anything I’ve seen. Standing almost life-size, a soldier faces out from one side and an angel from the other. Strong clay is utilized for the main structure. Details and color are layered, clay on clay, after the first firing. The color turquoise, often an accent in Hambardzumyan’s oils, is incorporated. It adds a mystical element. (He tells me he came to love the color in Egypt.) It delights Hambardzumyan that he uses the colors from his painting in his clay work, and vice versa. Combining everything is an exciting concept to him. Significant is his choice of clay – which is so susceptible to breakage – rather than a sturdier material, to represent a warrior. And, philosophically, who would not wish for an angel to accompany every soldier on the field of battle The self While Hambardzumyan depicts people involved in group activities, his paintings reveal his belief that ultimately each human stands alone with his or her own shadow. “Every person has life with others and life alone,” he states. “Personally, I like my studio, my technique, my mind, and my interests. I’m doing all me, all the time.” “He is like a snail,” his son, Narek, interjects with a touch of humor. Hambardzumyan wants to use his time, not waste it. Even though he did teach in Yerevan at the Art Academy and remains interested in his students, who continue his etching techniques, he is most interested in his own ideas – especially the idea of freedom. “Freedom from what” I ask. He shrugs, as though it were obvious, and replies, “Errands… everything that keeps one away from art, away from being able to completely devote oneself.” “When I am working I go into a different world,” Hambardzumyan explains. “I am doing my art with love, but not everything is easy. I move with today’s inspiration… contemporary methods, but my ideas have been living a long time. They are for now, but also for a hundred years ago and for the future.” He adds: “I am aiming for eternity. Infinity.” Either is a mighty goal. Without classification Asked if any particular style describes his work, he says, “Maybe I have a style, but it will be described in the future. I do not work thinking about style.” Likewise, he does not think about color as a separate category. It’s always in relation to forms and harmony. He believes, “Dynamism is clarified by color. Colors bring particular forces to the composition.” “My admiration is for ancient art,” Hambardzumyan says of his influences, “because after that everyone used those ideas.” He refuses to cite specific artists he admires, noting that he is attracted to various epochs rather than individuals. He did reveal the names of some who’ve been a notable part of his education in the art of etching: Goya, Above: Love# 15, etching, 7.5x6. Couple, 20x16, oil on canvas. Dark Secret, oil on canvas 12x16. Marionets, oil on canvas,triptich, 28x20 each. Everlasting Theme,etching 5.5 x 7.5. Doré, Jansen, and the French-Armenian Edgar Shahin, for whom he has done a one-man show at his museum in Paris. Literature and music are big influences. “In my paintings are my dreams, events that took place in the literature I have read, and impressions from reality.” Hambardzumyan often has music – classical or jazz – playing while he’s working. “I see music in artworks,” he says. “My first response to a painting will often be to ask, ‘What kind of music is this’” Star on the shore, oil on canvas, 30,5x40,5. The future Hambardzumyan has been working to establish a base in the U.S., but now he is beginning to think about turning his attention back to Europe. He has many invitations to do more exhibitions there. Wherever he may be, the Armenian connection remains an important element in his work and worldview. “Whatever Armenians do, they dedicate it to Armenia,” he explains. “Everyone wants to do good for Armenia. It’s in my blood; I am a product of that culture, and there is an Armenian factor in my pieces. But my art is global.” Asked about his advice for young artists, Hambardzumyan offers a humorous analogy. “For those who are not ‘sick’ with The Artist’s Disease, there are many ways to live a happy life,” he says. “For artists, like myself, who can conceive of no other occupation, love that sickness!” f connect: leftcoastgalleries.com (818) 760-7010 C6 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture November 1, 2008
Intersecting lines Art and architecture converge in Ruben Amirian’s work by Silva Sevlian GLENDALE, Calif. – Ruben Amirian is an architect, an art collector, and an abstract painter with a knack for experimentation. At his home in Glendale, the walls are almost entirely covered with paintings by a variety of artists, collected by Amirian over the course of several decades. Scattered between the artworks are Amirian’s own canvases – abstract compositions brimming with obscure shapes and vivid colors, and displaying a distinct architectural imprint. “Thinking of how art shapes a room makes me want to create spaces to accept art,” Amirian says. His collection includes a 1974 William Saroyan watercolor, a possession he said he is proud to display in his living room. “Saroyan is just different,” Amirian explains. “In the diaspora we have grown up with symbols, and Saroyan is one of them.” After studying at Tehran University of Fine Arts, Amirian moved to the U.S. and attended Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C. Today Amirian, who holds a Master’s degree in architecture, heads his own architectural firm, Ruben Amirian and Associates, in Glendale. Among his specialties is city and regional planning. Amirian is also an advocate of creating exhibition space for local artists. His input during city-planning meetings has helped convince Glendale officials to allow developers more square footage if they provide space for art-related activities. His hope is to create more galleries within the city, he says, adding: “Any kind of art needs feedback and feedback for a visual artist is an exhibit – how much can you paint and store in your studio” As a painter, Amirian continues to thrive on the interconnectedness of fine art and architecture. When it comes to designing a house, “I am always aware of the spaces,” he explains. “I look at a wall and see how a painting will affect that room.” Amirian likes to create extensive series of fine-art works around a given theme. Recently he has begun painting books of varying sizes with folded pages, which he glues onto the volumes. “If you are not obsessed, the artwork is not going to be as good,” he says. That obsession is evidenced by the fact that some of his paintings have taken up to five years to complete. “I can’t stand in front of a canvas and just paint,” he says. “I have to do a lot of planning. I sketch and sketch until it develops.” One of Amirian’s series, “Armenian Rhapsody,” depicts the movements of Armenian dance. He says he began the Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture November 1, 2008 Ruben Amirian has a knack for experimentation. Abstract composition brimming with avid colors. series one day while sitting in front of his television and watching an Armenian-dance program. A compulsive sketcher, Amirian has several albums of thumbnail sketches, which he uses as reference material for his paintings. “I always have paper in my pocket and I sketch,” he says. Though Amirian cites many influences, including Edward Hopper, he notes that his main inspiration, especially in his early years, has come from his mother, herself a painter. Amirian is also an avid collector of unusual objects such as miniature painted cows and old-fashioned meat grinders. Such nostalgic items hark back to his childhood in Iran, he notes and continues: ”I originally wanted to make a series of related drawings [of the meat grinders], but then the interest of sketching them disappeared, so I started collecting them.” f 28”hX22”w, acrylic on canvas paper, mounted on canvas, 2006. The Toast, 40”hX32”w, acrylic on convas, 2004. Amiran says that his main inspiration has come from his mother, herself a painter. C7
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