Cover: Detail, MartinAdalian, Four Sticks,Acrylic, Oil,Tar on Canvas, 62.25 x 47.5 in.
JoAnne Artman Gallery is pleased to present The Gaze, an exhibitionofportraitsbyMartinAdalian.Referringtothe concept of gaze within the confines of visual culture, the title and selected paintings explore how an audience perceives art’s depicted figures. Examining different strategies of the gaze, Adalian implicates the viewer by placing them in the position of both the observer and the observed. Mediating between the sense of invasion and invitation, viewers are coerced into different ways of seeing when they are confronted with direct gazes and personalspaces.
Mining art history, popular culture, and contemporary aesthetics of mixed media and grunge, Martin Adalian createsintense,palpableportraitsthatshiftthegazewith charged relationships between sitter, artist, and the onlooker. Portraying voyeuristic perspectives and mutual exchanges, his compositional subtlety chronicles the nuance of looking. This relationship between subjects is pushed further with the implied psychological power dynamicofbeingwatched,aswellascapturingfemininity from a male perspective; however, the works remain ambiguous as to the spectator’s relationship with the subjectsandthesituationalsetting.Establishingnarrative through the positioning of each figure’s eyes, Adalian relaysemotionwithoutspeech.
Creating mixed media paintings, Martin Adalian’s use of various elements create a multi-dimensional and multi-textualeffectthataddsasenseofmotionandenergy to his pieces with the application of thick swaths of paint and tar is concurrently spontaneous and strategic. Devising focal points and redirecting gaze to areas of elaborate detail and the physicality of his mark making process, Adalian further breaches the boundaries of the conventionalmodesofportraiture.
MARTINADALIAN(b.1972,Yerevan,Armenia)graduated from the Terlemezian Art College of Yerevan, Armenia before moving to the United States in 1990. He started painting when he was three years old as a result of growing up amongst a dynasty of family artists including his father, uncle, and cousins. Adalian has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the UnitedStates,Europe,andRussia.
Afternoon Garden, Acrylic, Oil,Tar on Canvas, 62.75 x 47.75 in.
Leaning, Acrylic, Oil,Tar on Canvas, 62.5 x 44 in.
Red Stockings, Acrylic, Oil,Tar on Canvas, 62.5 x 47.75 in.
Since in Vain, Acrylic, Oil,Tar on Canvas, 62 x 47.5 in.
Four Sticks,Acrylic, Oil,Tar on Canvas, 62.25 x 47.5 in.
Published in conjunction with the exhibition: THE GAZE: Martin Adalian Spring 2023
JoAnneArtman Gallery
326 N Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA92651
346 N Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA92651
511AW 22nd St, NewYork, NY10011
Catalogue © JoAnneArtman Gallery
Artwork © MartinAdalian
