He starts with a single line that travels through the canvas to create spaces and forms. He attains a perfect balance between light and dark, portraying the richness of contrasts that exist within. Like the Romantics, Varoujan emphasizes emotions by painting in a bold, dramatic manner. He uses the purity of form to mystify the object, and vibrant compositions and luminous colors to create its emotional tone. The image is a snap shot of a moment experienced at some level by the artist. The composition remains in the realm of the physical world, and it projects the artist's intellectual relation to the subject.
Varoujan's Romantic Expressionism is built on the concept of temptation. The daily struggle between his wants and his needs is the dynamic portrayed in his compositions. In some paintings the color is vivid and cheerful, such as in the Temptation of the Bride, while others are melancholic, and melodramatic such as Pomegranate Eaters. In the painting Hugs and Kisses, her red dress and shoes are suggestive of desire contrasting with the wax-like quality of her body, but the couple's sensuality is portrayed in the delicate touch of their hands. This gentleness suspends the movement and the high energy in the composition. He sits her on his lap and she floats reaching for his kiss. His vulnerability and her strength complete each other. In Moonlight Embrace, the soft earthly tones take the viewer into the intricacies of tone, as through the multiple facets of a diamond. This painting captures the most seductive of moments, when the lovers shed the toils of daily life off their shoulders for this embrace under the moonlit sky, the celebration of their communion. In Temptation Under the Lemon Tree he invites her to taste the fruit of desire, simultaneously bitter and sweet as life itself. It is an image of innocense and youth, their lives are still undeveloped like a script not yet written. This painting captures a moment when all that is certain is the timeless ritual of life.
Most paintings in this exhibit may be previewed at www.varoujan.net. Many art collectors and art lovers will succumb to the temptation of taking home a timeless treasure, to live with and to enjoy. This exhibit should not be missed.
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