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Paul Sarkisian

July 22, 2017 – February 3, 2019

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Three mixed-media collages by Paul Sarkisian, displayed in the Albuquerque Museum's Ventana Salon.

Paul Sarkisian, Untitled, ca. 1990s, monoprints and collage on paper, each lent by the artist, Ventana Salon installation view

Untitled (right leaning red51) by Paul Sarkisian, a bright red, wall-mounted form with an organic shape composed of interlocking ovals.

Paul Sarkisian, Untitled (right leaning red51), 2005, polyurethane on wood, 168 x 89 in., lent by the artist. Photo by Eric Swanson.

An animated view of Paul Sarkisian's Visiting Artist exhibition, panning across two large, wall-mounted works composed of colorful squares installed in the lobby of the Albuquerque Museum.

Paul Sarkisian, left to right, Untitled (blue8), 1999, resin epoxy on wood, 180 x 180 in.; Untitled (magenta16), 2003, polyurethane on wood, 144 x 144 in., both lent by the artist

An in-progress view of Paul Sarkisian's Visiting Artist exhibition, showing large, wall-mounted works composed of colorful squares being installed in the lobby of the Albuquerque Museum.

Untitled (blue8) & Untitled (magenta16), in-progress installation view

An acrylic painting of photorealistic scraps of colorful paper and photographs.

Paul Sarkisian, Untitled (Painting #4), 1983, acrylic and glitter on linen, 55 1/4 x 70 1/2 in., Albuquerque Museum, gift of John McEnroe, PC2005.65.1

Albuquerque Museum’s Visiting Artist program is generously funded by the Frederick Hammersley Fund for the Arts at the Albuquerque Community Foundation.

Color, composition, texture, pattern, symbolism, and phenomenology: these are the basic elements of painting. In an artistic career spanning nearly 70 years, Paul Sarkisian deeply investigated the complex alchemy of these elements. His work was invariably enlivened by fundamental creative tensions, elegantly if imperfectly resolved. Recent works like the meticulously crafted wooden "puzzle" paintings displayed in the lobby embodied these kinds of dialectics. They are simple and complex, direct yet coy, intimate but monumental, childish and sophisticated. In other words, they remind us that art’s tendency, even its purpose, is to generate more questions than answers, more not-knowing than knowing.

These more recent works provide a wonderful contrast to the artist’s paintings that seem all about answers and providing information through their meticulous, almost photographically "real" paintings from the 1970s and 1980s. From his monumental, life-sized, black and white paintings of buildings to his completely deceptive paintings of mundane scraps of paper, Sarkisian proved the power of continuous innovation, and the importance of mastery of technique before an artist can create masterpieces reflecting his vision.

A headshot of artist Paul Sarkisian, who holds a black-and-white photograph of himself as a young man over half of his face.

About the Artist

Paul Sarkisian (1928 Chicago, Illinois – 2019 Santa Fe, New Mexico) lived and worked in New Mexico since the 1960s. One of the most influential and ambitious artists in the state, his work remained innovative, ambitious, and relevant decade after decade. From groundbreaking abstract expressionist works in the 1950s; quintessentially psychedelic, Pop Art paintings in the '60s; dense but austere mural-scale photorealist works in the '70s; scintillating, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink paintings and prints in the '80s and '90s; to his eye-popping painted wood constructions produced in this century—Paul Sarkisian restlessly developed new forms and means of expression throughout his lifetime.

Paul Sarkisian's Website