Artist Portrait

Judy Buswick

Daniel Varoujan Hejinian was working on a Ph.D. in art at the Institute of Fine Arts of Yerevan in Soviet Armenia, but his artistic freedom was restricted. When he left Russia in 1979 to pursue his art career unbounded in Boston, he was forced to leave all his paintings and works in progress to the funding government agencies.

He was pleased to participate with the Gorbachev Foundation of North America located at Northeastern University to honor Mikhail Gorbachev for "his contributions to our century and to our future." This year, the Foundation's Associate Director Kathleen Campanella invited Varoujan to exhibit his highly individualistic paintings at the dinner reception in the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. She thus provided the opportunity for the artist to meet the world leader. After introducing himself as an Armenian American who had studied art in Syria and Russia, Varoujan expressed his congratulations to Gorbachev for opening the Soviet Union to democracy. In the course of the conversation, facilitated by an interpreter, Varoujan mentioned his dream of creating a globe traveling art exhibit on world issues to welcome the new millennium. His paintings would address central concerns of humanity and problem solving on the global level to make a better world in the 21st century.

On a smaller scale Varoujan has experienced the power of art working for social change. He was the catalyst for Colors in the Sky exhibits at the Prudential Center Skywalk. The first year, this Wang Center for the Performing Arts fund raiser benefited youth arts programs; and the second year proceeds went to Young at Arts, the Bob and Anne Woolf Charitable Foundation, and Stop Handgun Violence. Varoujan has also contributed paintings for art shows that have supported the Red Cross, Friendship Without Borders, the Armenian Children's Milk Founda-tion, The Fund for Armenian Children's Education, 1992 hurricane victims in Florida, the Christopher Iannella Scholarship Fund, and Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer Research.

An international artist who addresses the human condition, Varoujan captures emotions and moods in his paintings. His figurative subjects with abstract backgrounds are rich with vivid colors and sharp contrasts. He uses acrylic, oil, charcoal, pastel and pencil, as well as embossed metal for texture, and is able to create works which are half dream an half reality.