Galerie Anais presents "Exploring the Depths of Perception: the Revealed and the Unseen," a solo exhibition by Jean Kazandjian that runs through May 19, 2010. The selection of works in this two-part exhibition emphasizes the multiple layers of Kazandjian's work, ranging from the three-dimensional screen paintings to playful interpretations of American popular culture. Not tied to a single form of expression or a dominant art movement, Jean Kazandjian embraced the freedom of his own visual journey while living in Paris. Since moving to Southern California, the interplay of surrealism and popular culture has become an ongoing part of his work.

Jean Kazandjian's "The Migrants - Sumkait": oil in canvasJean Kazandjian moved to Paris in 1963 during the height of the artistic revolution of the 20th century. As a consequence of the Diaspora brought on by the Armenian genocide in Turkey, Kazandjian's family of Armenian descent lived in Beirut, the city often referred to as the "Paris of the Middle East." Discovering his creative voice in the real Paris, Kazandjian's paintings evolved in an ongoing engagement to transcend the boundaries of perception. This evolution has continued in a multitude of dimensions since the artist moved to California in 2000, and currently paints in Venice.

"As we enter the visual world of Jean Kazandjian we encounter a cosmos in which everything is alive and everything is capable of dreaming. Not just Man, as Surrealist Andre Breton had defined him: "Man, that inveterate dreamer" but Woman, the landscape, and even art. Everything that is created has a spirit, and it is the spirit of a Dreaming Being. Kazandjian has captured them in their moments of reverie, as their spirits wander non-locally throughout the universe, and plunge into memories of the past, visions of the future, or into parallel lives in other dimensions."

—Gloria Orenstein, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Southern California.

Says  Kazandjian himself, "To me, painting came from the recognition that nothing is eternal. My works have a common point: a representation born from the duality of what is internal and external to man. When I conceal some segments of the painted surface or when I reveal it in part with screens, I bring into play the concepts of reality and illusion. The use of repeated figures is a challenge to transcend reality."

"Venice Dancing With M.": oil on canvas, by Jean Kazandjian

In "Venus Dancing with M."—the largest painting in the first show at Galerie Anais—Kazandjian mixes the classical sensuality of the European reclining nude with silhouettes of Mickey Mouse, the ultimate image of American popular culture.

With a playful expression, a modern Olympia beholds the consumer kitsch of the new world. As Kazandjian once said, "My work constantly rouses and goads the demons of illusion and absurdity."

In his screen paintings, Kazandjian creates an intriguing depth through the interaction of shadows and silhouettes. Since the early nineties, the artist has been placing an almost imperceptible screen about an inch and a half away from the painted canvas. If we look closely, we notice that the screen carries its own painted image, and as we move our gaze across the dual-imaged surface, we are slowly able to perceive the one image through, with, and in the other. From this sudden, subtle depth perception, a 3rd and 4th dimension appear to emerge, creating a marvelous illusion and the possibility of seeing in new ways. Kazandjian describes the evolution of the process: "Things don't have to appear immediately. I want to show a part of it so someone can discover the rest."

Kazandjian's collectors span the globe and his work has been shown widely in Europe U.S., Canada and Japan both in public institutions such as The Brooklyn Museum, New-York, Musée de l'Athénée, Geneva, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Musée du Surréalisme, Melun, Sursock Museum, Beirut and private galleries such as Galerie Jeanne, Munich, Galerie d'Orsay, Boston and Galerie Furstenberg, Paris.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 320-page, fully illustrated, hard cover book containing his body of work from the last ten years.

Opening reception and Part I for the Exhibit, Saturday, April 17th 6:00 - 9:00 pm. Part II is a booksigning and  closing reception brunch, Sunday, May 16, 11 am-1 pm.