|
 |
The Improper Bostonian Magazine
September 1 1993
Colors of Contrast and Mystery
by Nicole Mills
|
Daniel Varoujan Hejinian is a big, burly, bear of a man, presenting a physical image strikingly different from the ethereal, mysterious feminine figures who people his sweeping canvasses. But if you tune up your sensory perceptions, and look again at one of his paintings, you'll start to feel the strength and power and passion that swirl through his works. The dreamy, slight form of a girl moves out of a surface of highly-charged color and vibrancy that lends a distinct power to the composition. A willowy and frail-seeming woman stands coolly before a charging, vivid, boldly-colored horse. "The strong colors,"says the artist, gazing at one of his pieces hanging at the Brenda Taylor Gallery on Newbury Street, "give contrast and mystery. Sometimes the colors don't like each other, but the dominant color creates harmony."
The harmony and integration of the components of the "feminine mystique" is exactly what Varoujan, as he signs his pieces, sets out to convey with his works. The woman in his life, his wife, his daughter, his mother, have all been inspirations. :your mother is your love," he smiles, but don't read some Oedipally-obsessed sub-context into his works; Varoujan creates his art in an effort to achieve empathy with women, rather than simply slavishly adoring femininity from afar.
Varoujan studied art in Armenia; he came to the United States 13 years ago and has been working as the art director for Ackerley communications. His job necessarily entails steeping himself in graphic art in all its commercialized splendor. But, he says, working in this capacity keeps him from letting his own art too commercial. "My job is my job and my art is my art. They are two separate things. Having my job supports me and allows me to make my art." While not paying heed to this seeming dichotomy in his own life (many artists seem to believe that commercial success is the ultimate vindication of their art), Varoujan does recognize the duality present in the bold, contrasting strokes and elusive themes present in his work. He reconciles his motifs easily, however: "Womanhood is my inspiration in art, in its power and fullness, "he says in his soft, heavily accented voice. One look at his beautiful, powerful, and mysterious figures and landscapes, and you'll understand just what he means.
|
|
