ANNA NAVASARDIAN Assembly TONIGHT, April 21, 2016, 7 - 9 pm
Knoebelstrasse 2780538
Munich, Germany Exhibition: April 22 - June 18, 2016
Mob, 2015 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas 59.5 in x 43.5 in / 151 cm x 110.5 cm
Galerie Andreas Binder is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new work by Anna Navasardian. In her second exhibition in Munich titled “Assembly”, Navasardian continues explorations in collective identity and themes of individualism in a series of figurative paintings, drawings and sculpture. Navasardianʼs work utilizes the language of portraiture and the tradition of figure painting to obscure the bounds that separate personal and constructed identity. Dynamic subjects are drafted from sources that include Soviet era family photographs, vintage periodicals, and live models. The resulting characters expose hidden truths and buried layers narrated through vigorous brush strokes and an animated palette. In her latest work, Navasardian emphasises the use of the graphic elements of patterns, familiar formations and repetition as a metaphor for group mentality. She continues her play with institutional group portraits, combining both of these elements to exaggerate, arrange and re-arrange her figures into ubiquitous patterns and shapes. In creating these situations with her characters, she is able to create simultaneous moments of harmony, balance, tension and fluidity while illuminating moments of conflict and contrast in the individual subjects as well the group that they comprise. In the ‘Mob’ series, a mass of figures—some loosely suggested, others clearly identifiable—are shown charging forward in alliance. The fleeting nature of the scene is emphasized through fluctuating faces that anxiously emerge then vanish into a sea of figures that seems to expand beyond the frame of the painting. It is unclear if the figures are running away from or towards something, or whether they are driven by a state of elation or fear. These discrepancies seem to suggest a complexity that is inherent to the nature of collective identity and is particularly relevant to the world today. Recently named one of the top 25 artists under twenty-five by Camplex Magazine, Anna Navasardian (* 1988 in Armenia) graduated from Cornegie Mellon with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting in 2010. While in attendance, she was awarded the John L Porter Art Award for outstanding students two years in a row and also won the Samuel Rosenberg Award. She had exhibitions at Claire Oliver Gallery and Grasser Grunert New York and also at Michael Janssen, Singapor. Today she lives and works in New York City.