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Articles
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By SABRINA
CRAWFORD Independent Newspapers
SAN
MATEO - You enter the Knorr Gallery at 253 B St. and bright orange, yellow and
blue mystical mosaics of mermaids and fairies immediately engulf and overwhelm
your senses. Interwoven with the massive Mission-style tile works are soft, sensuous
cityscapes painted in murky auburn, smudged charcoal and wavy blues.
At
first it seems like most small gallery exhibits - the work of two artists shown
side- by-side for any number of random reasons. But within moments, the deep,-
visceral connection between the work and lives of Russian mosaic master Galust
Orduyan and his son Greg becomes obvious.
"It's like
we're one artist," says Galust as he uncorks a bottle of Moldavian wine.
The wine is a tribute to their Armenian heritage, their Russian
homeland and their strong sense of family.
"You should
not drink wine to be happy," Galust says in a broken Russian accent,
raising his glass high, "you should be happy first in order to drink the
wine."
It's a mantra for his art and his life, which
he will tell you are one and the same,
So it's no surprise
that his son is also an artist.
A ruddy-cheeked, boisterous
patriarch from the former Soviet Union with an almost childlike air of mischief
about him, Galust giddily relays his family history, folklore traditions and memories
of being a hippie in the '60s - all of which inspire his work.
"We
are a family of artists and educators," says Galust."In Russian, we
are called 'bringers of light.
" The Orduyan light-bearing
legacy began in the former Soviet - countryside with Galust's grand-
father,
a builder of wine vats, and continued with his father who planted a lush public
garden of fruits and flowers.
The
blend of traditional ceramic tiles with coins, glass, beads and other found objects
to pay homage to the family's gardens and vineyards also creates a 3-D effect
that draws viewers into a romantic, fantastical world.
"My paintings aren't literal. They're
tales of imagination, a 7 for life," says the artist, who quotes the wisdom
of Joseph Campbell, The Torah and New York City cabbies with equal ease.
Perhaps it's no surprise that
Galust, who comes from a land
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where over 100 religions are practiced, draws on eastern philosophy, Egyptian
art, Russian lore and American pop icono-
graphy to create his alternate universe
- a dazzling mythic land-
scape of tightrope walkers, pirates, floating Buddhas
and flying fire-
birds.
Raised in one of the most turbulent
regions in the world, Galust has a keen appreciation for the power of humor and
light.
"I could create dark art, but I have no right
to bring my darkness into the heart of another - so I give humor and jokes,"
he says, - dancing a jig and rumbling with a full-belly laugh.
Having
traveled the trajectory of so many American immigrants,
Galust and his son
are New Yorkers at heart.
"New York is filled with
youth with hope in their eyes," Galust says. "There's a feeling like
'I'm going to take a piece of this great city and make it mine.' Generation after
generation they come with their dreams, and New York City has the same face."
The timeless wonder of immigrants arriving in New York
is perfectly captured in his son's -pain of majestic skyscrapers, bustling docks
and leaves falling in Central Park.
"My paintings are
almost like a journal. They're the best expression of how I experi-enced that
time," says Greg, whose tranquil demeanor and towering, stoutly athletic
build are a sharp contrast to his father. So close to home are the paintings that
Greg, who arrived in New York at 20 and dove into the Chelsea art scene, doesn't
want to part with them.
The 31-year-old amateur
boxer shares his father's passion and heritage, but has his own distinct style
and approach.
Greg, a Moscow-trained painter, illustrator
and animator who now teaches video-game creation at the Academy of Art College
in San Francisco, has an eye like his father's for the beauty and mystery of the
world, and a knack for capturing its distilled essence in his artwork.
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"We go through life without realizing how beautiful
every day things are," he says. Greg wants to reawaken that beauty in viewers.
Deeply inspired and influenced by the work of French impressionist
Paul Cezanne, Greg's vision of beauty is one of natural harmony that exists everywhere
- from gutter view of the darkest, crumbling, five-floor Manhattan walk-up to
a rooftop vista of the San -Francisco Bay.
"Beauty's
everywhere," Greg says. "It's up to us to align our selves to see and
experience what's around us."
To capture the natural
world,Greg climbs mountains, rooftops and jagged rocks, There's a multi-dimensional
element to his paintings, some of which are divided into triple panels and heavily
layered with mixed media, a technique clearly influenced by his father's craft.
Greg's total immersion technique results in paintings that pulse
with fluidity and life. A boat floating on waves suspended in deep blue-green
hues seems to jostle along the warped paper curves as if tossing on the sea. "I
can always tell when someone has paint ed from a picture," he says. "It's
flat and lifeless.
"I believe that to capture the essence
and to connect with the essence, to experience it - you have to be there not only
with your eyes. You have to feel if it's cold, if the wind is blowing, if the
waves are chopped - to convey it so the emotion really -comes across in the artwork.
It's all about emotion."
Most of the time, Greg is
the silent, serious partner who watches for his father's approval, smiles as his
dad embraces friends and strangers alike as they pass through the gallery door.
But when Greg speaks about his work, his father becomes quiet, stands behind him
and beams.
An opening reception will be held Thursday Sept. l9from-6
to 9p.m. at Knorr Gallery, 253 B St., San Mateo.
Sabrina Crawford
can be reached at 652-6782. Back
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With
any questions, comments, suggestions, or orders contact with the artist by phone
(650)595-5612
or e-mail mosaic02art@yahoo.com
| | © Copyright
Nick Orduyan. All rights reserved.
These images may not be copied, reproduced,
redistributed or used for any
other purpose without the expressed written permission of the artist. | |
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