Տ Ա Ր Ա Գ Ի Ր Ն Ե Ր Ն Ո Ւ Ե Ր Ա Զ Ո Ղ Ն Ե Ր Ը . E X I L E S A N D D R E A M E R S
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Typified by a rich arsenal of aesthetic devices , Antreasian ’ s mature works shared a strong affinity with minimalism – a movement that rid the artwork of any meaning outside of its own presence as physical and formal phenomena . To this end , Antreasian used simple geometrical shapes and structures like the grid , as seen in the 1978 Project II lithograph . The artist complicated the ‘ mathematical ’ framework of his print by superimposing two slanted grids with irregular end-points . With the addition of color stripes and the soft texture of the lithographic trace , the web of lines becomes reminiscent of both an ornament and architectural space . The playful spirit and spatial conflicts , constitute the essence of Antreasian ’ s style . This trajectory of philosophical reconsideration of ‘ ornamentalization ’ would become more prominent after the artist spent time in Turkey studying medieval Islamic and Armenian architecture .
Though fully integrated into the American art establishment , Antreasian also made efforts to present his art within the diasporan-Armenian circles , as in the 1983 Fresno Arts Center exhibition Five West Coast Artists of Armenian Ancestry and Antreasian ’ s last , life-time solo exhibition held at the Tufenkian Fine Arts in 2017 . ( VG )
Bibliography Garo Antreasian and Clinton Adams , The Tamarind Book of Lithography : Art & Techniques , Tamarind Lithography Workshop , Albuquerque , 1971 ; Garo Antreasian and William Peterson , Garo Z . Antreasian : Reflections on Life and Art , UNM Press , Albuquerque , 2015
© Cafesjian Museum Foundation