NORA ECCLES HARRISON MUSEUM OF ART SURVEYS PAINTER CHARLES GARABEDIAN

An exhibition of works on paper by California-based artist Charles Garabedian will open January 27, 2004 at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art.

Garabedian, though unfamiliar to most in Utah, is a celebrated senior member of the American art scene. Born and raised in Detroit, Garabedian served in the United States Air Force (1942-1945) and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, before completing a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California in Los Angeles. He has since been included in dozens of exhibitions, is represented in public and private collections around the world, and was awarded several prestigious awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1977) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1979).

This octogenarian’s artwork is a veritable visual reaction to and reflection of his daily life—originally intuitive and unstudied, more recently contemplative and literary. Charles Garabedian: Works on Paper, 1965-2001 features nearly 30 paintings, ranging from small- to large-scale. The artworks are crowded compositions, often featuring richly-colored and fanciful figures in action. His earlier works are narrative, inspired by experiences during the Second World War as Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force. There is a sense of tragedy that results from the suggestion of — and not the depiction of — aggression and violence. Viewers see the consequences of conflict, a subject of persistent awareness of the artist and society; and sometimes, there is a comic insertion of incongruent elements.

More recent works are based upon Garabedian’s reading of Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, and reveal a decidedly modern interpretation of the Grecian characters in imagined landscapes.

The exhibition Charles Garabedian: Works on Paper, 1965–2001 will remain on display through May 1, 2004.

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, 650 North 1100 East, Logan, UT, 84322, (435) 797-0163, Fax (435) 797-3423, www.artmuseum.usu.edu. Hours: Tues., Thurs. & Fri.: 10:30 am - 4:30 pm; Wed.: 10:30 am - 8:00 pm; Sat.: noon - 5 pm; Closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays. Admission is free; Parking $4 (free after 3:45 pm). For more information or to schedule a tour of the Museum, please call (435) 797-0165. The Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities.