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"THE UNLIKELY DISCOVERY THAT HAS ROCKED THE ART WORLD" EXHIBITION: MAY 1 - 3, 2013
ARTHUR PINAJIAN (1914-1999)
No. 4431, Untitled, 1966, Oil on canvas, 27x32 inches.
Professor William Innes Homer (1929-2012) writes: "Even though Pinajian
was a creative force to be reckoned with, during his lifetime he
rarely exhibited or sold his paintings. Instead, he pursued his goals
in isolation with the single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cezanne,
refusing to give up in the face of public indifference. In his later
years he could be compared to a lone researcher in a laboratory
pursuing knowledge for its own sake. His exhaustive diaries and art
notes make it clear that he dedicated all of his days to his art. He
was passionate and unequivocally committed."
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND A VERY SPECIAL EVENING HONORING
Arthur PINAJIAN (1914-1999)
Under the Patronage of Diocesan Benefactors Mr. & Mrs. Gerald and
Patricia Turpanjian
OPENING RECEPTION WEDNESDAY, MAY 1-3, 2013 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 pm
EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH MAY 3, 2013 THURSDAY & FRIDAY 1:00 - 9:00 P.M.
No. 4687, Untitled, 1960. Oil on canvas 29x40 inches.
AT ZORAYAN MUSEUM 3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91504 (818)
558-7474
IMPORTANT LINKS:
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/arts/design/saved-from-obscurity-arthur-pinajians-paintings-shown-in-gallery.html?_r=0
ABC NEWS
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/arthur-pinajian-art-fortune-found-garage-york-man-18682520
HUFFPOST ARTS & CULTURE
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/arthur-pinajian-art-in-garage-worth-30-million_n_2827395.html
Please contact Linda Stepanian, Director of Stephanie's Gallery and
Representative of the Pinajian Estate Collection at (818) 790-4905
[email protected]
STEPHANIE'S ART GALLERY, INC 466 Foothill Blvd.
La Canada, CA 91011 (818) 790-4905
Rarely do we discover a worthy artist who works alone and unheralded.
Arthur Pinajian was one of them. He drew and painted in obscurity until
his death in 1999 at the age of 85. Sharing a modest one-story cottage
in the village in Bellport, New York, with his sister Armen (d.2005),
Pinajian depended on her totally for financial and moral support.
To our knowledge, no articles were written about Pinajian and he
exhibited and sold his paintings only rarely. Despite this neglect,
he pursued his art steadfastly and with incredible determination. The
majority of his work was found after his death stacked up in the
one-car garage and attic of his sister's property. Along with the art
were found his journals, many letters, and sketch books that spanned
the 50 years of his creative life. When all is said and done, this
oeuvre is important because it represents an artist's life in its
totality. Within it is found a prize legacy that will endure for
posterity; the remainder will win the respect of scholars as they
study in depth the life of a truly original artist.
Pinajian, the son of Armenian holocaust survivors, was a native
of Union City, New Jersey. He started as a cartoonist in the 1930s
and found considerable success fashioning comic strips for Quality,
Marvel, and Centaur Comics. After World War II, during which he earned
the Bronze Star for valor, he rejected commercial art, attended the
Art Students League in New York, and committed himself to the pursuit
of serious painting. Prior to his many years in Bellport with Armen,
he rented a studio in Woodstock, New York, and there and in West New
York, New Jersey, he began to wrestle with the challenges of being
a modern artist.
This meant painting in a variety of styles ranging from the figurative
to the abstract. The wordexploration sums up the nature of his quest:
he worked in the manner of Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, and
Cubism before turning to Surrealism and various modes of abstraction,
including Abstract Expressionism. Part of Pinajian's learning process
was to echo the styles of well-known artists - making free copies as
a means of perfecting his visual vocabulary. In the end, however,
he forged his own style without a heavy debt to others. He also
philosophized about the creative process. Found among his effects
were numerous journals in which he wrote down his ideas about the
making of art. Issues of color, composition, and pattern captured
much of his attention.
It is noteworthy that he became a veritable master of structural color.
What is so remarkable about Pinajian is his wholehearted dedication
to the process of painting. He pursued his goals in isolation with the
single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cezanne, refusing to give up in the
face of public indifference. In his later years he could be compared
to a researcher in a laboratory pursuing knowledge for its own sake.
Pinajian's work is uneven, but when he hits the mark, especially in
his abstractions, he can be ranked among the best artists of his era.
It is satisfying to contemplate his more successful works, doubly so
because they capture the excitement of visual modernism and exude a
painterly integrity that is rare in our time. - William Innes Homer
ARTHUR PINAJIAN (1914-1999)
No. 4431, Untitled, 1966, Oil on canvas, 27x32 inches.
Professor William Innes Homer (1929-2012) writes: "Even though Pinajian
was a creative force to be reckoned with, during his lifetime he
rarely exhibited or sold his paintings. Instead, he pursued his goals
in isolation with the single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cezanne,
refusing to give up in the face of public indifference. In his later
years he could be compared to a lone researcher in a laboratory
pursuing knowledge for its own sake. His exhaustive diaries and art
notes make it clear that he dedicated all of his days to his art. He
was passionate and unequivocally committed."
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND A VERY SPECIAL EVENING HONORING
Arthur PINAJIAN (1914-1999)
Under the Patronage of Diocesan Benefactors Mr. & Mrs. Gerald and
Patricia Turpanjian
OPENING RECEPTION WEDNESDAY, MAY 1-3, 2013 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 pm
EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH MAY 3, 2013 THURSDAY & FRIDAY 1:00 - 9:00 P.M.
No. 4687, Untitled, 1960. Oil on canvas 29x40 inches.
AT ZORAYAN MUSEUM 3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91504 (818)
558-7474
IMPORTANT LINKS:
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/arts/design/saved-from-obscurity-arthur-pinajians-paintings-shown-in-gallery.html?_r=0
ABC NEWS
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/arthur-pinajian-art-fortune-found-garage-york-man-18682520
HUFFPOST ARTS & CULTURE
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/arthur-pinajian-art-in-garage-worth-30-million_n_2827395.html
Please contact Linda Stepanian, Director of Stephanie's Gallery and
Representative of the Pinajian Estate Collection at (818) 790-4905
[email protected]
STEPHANIE'S ART GALLERY, INC 466 Foothill Blvd.
La Canada, CA 91011 (818) 790-4905
Rarely do we discover a worthy artist who works alone and unheralded.
Arthur Pinajian was one of them. He drew and painted in obscurity until
his death in 1999 at the age of 85. Sharing a modest one-story cottage
in the village in Bellport, New York, with his sister Armen (d.2005),
Pinajian depended on her totally for financial and moral support.
To our knowledge, no articles were written about Pinajian and he
exhibited and sold his paintings only rarely. Despite this neglect,
he pursued his art steadfastly and with incredible determination. The
majority of his work was found after his death stacked up in the
one-car garage and attic of his sister's property. Along with the art
were found his journals, many letters, and sketch books that spanned
the 50 years of his creative life. When all is said and done, this
oeuvre is important because it represents an artist's life in its
totality. Within it is found a prize legacy that will endure for
posterity; the remainder will win the respect of scholars as they
study in depth the life of a truly original artist.
Pinajian, the son of Armenian holocaust survivors, was a native
of Union City, New Jersey. He started as a cartoonist in the 1930s
and found considerable success fashioning comic strips for Quality,
Marvel, and Centaur Comics. After World War II, during which he earned
the Bronze Star for valor, he rejected commercial art, attended the
Art Students League in New York, and committed himself to the pursuit
of serious painting. Prior to his many years in Bellport with Armen,
he rented a studio in Woodstock, New York, and there and in West New
York, New Jersey, he began to wrestle with the challenges of being
a modern artist.
This meant painting in a variety of styles ranging from the figurative
to the abstract. The wordexploration sums up the nature of his quest:
he worked in the manner of Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, and
Cubism before turning to Surrealism and various modes of abstraction,
including Abstract Expressionism. Part of Pinajian's learning process
was to echo the styles of well-known artists - making free copies as
a means of perfecting his visual vocabulary. In the end, however,
he forged his own style without a heavy debt to others. He also
philosophized about the creative process. Found among his effects
were numerous journals in which he wrote down his ideas about the
making of art. Issues of color, composition, and pattern captured
much of his attention.
It is noteworthy that he became a veritable master of structural color.
What is so remarkable about Pinajian is his wholehearted dedication
to the process of painting. He pursued his goals in isolation with the
single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cezanne, refusing to give up in the
face of public indifference. In his later years he could be compared
to a researcher in a laboratory pursuing knowledge for its own sake.
Pinajian's work is uneven, but when he hits the mark, especially in
his abstractions, he can be ranked among the best artists of his era.
It is satisfying to contemplate his more successful works, doubly so
because they capture the excitement of visual modernism and exude a
painterly integrity that is rare in our time. - William Innes Homer