A few years ago I read a book titled ‘Black Dog of Fate’ by Peter Balakian. It is a coming of age memoir about growing up a fourth generation Armenian in America. Balakian did not really know anything about his family history until he became an adult and began to do his own research. Through his research, he discovered his family’s involvement in the Armenian genocide, and how and why they immigrated to the United States. His family never spoke of their past, and Balakian had to piece his own history together.

For years I have been making art about issues surrounding my family, but it was this book that inspired me to go in the direction I am now. I cannot imagine growing up in a family that never shared their history with the younger generations. I grew up in an Armenian family who talked incessantly about our past, and our legacy. I have dug deeper into that history and focused on my Babi Jan [grandfather]. My recent work is about him and how his life experiences with war and genocide have helped shape our family, and, more specifically, who I have become.

My printmaking process has evolved over the years, from traditional editions, to experimenting with combined techniques. In my most recent work, I am using screen-printed photographic imagery to represent an event in history and combining it with intaglio drawn figures that represent my interpretation of stories told by my family for three generations.

Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking, The Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon [2006]

2008
‘Predictions & Premonitions: Stage II’, Nehring Gallery, Dekalb, Illinois
‘Print Zero Print Exchange #5’ Exhibition, Pratt Fine Arts Gallery, Seattle Washington
‘Print Zero Print Exchange #5’ Exhibition, Center for the Fine Arts, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York
‘Print Zero Print Exchange #5’ Exhibition, Roennebaeksholm Arts & Culture Center, Naestved, Denmark
‘Print Zero Print Exchange #5’ Exhibition, Rainbow Building Gallery, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

2007
‘Legacy’, Solo Exhibition, EXP Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
‘Predictions & Premonitions’, Pearl Street Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
‘Chicago Underground’, EXP Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
‘Print Zero Print Exchange #4’ Exhibition, Print Walls Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
‘Print Zero Print Exchange #4’ Exhibition, Sev Shoon, Seattle, Washington
‘Summer Meat’, Parts & Labor Collective, Chicago, Illinois
‘America’, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon