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| STATEMENT |
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My artwork is probably the result of a wide combination of influences including -but not exclusively- my work as an archaeological conservator over the last 20 yrs. It is also a blend of cultures and encounters with splendid individuals and places. My heart is filled with European, African, Asian, Australasian and American wonders.
Most of my early work is inspired by Lascaux and rock art in general. Not really for the representational power of the animals, more for their abstract beauty and the miracle of their preservation. This incredible preservation after some 18,000 years is the result of an unexpected combination between the human hand and the mineral substrate. The human being behind the trace is long gone but the trace remains almost intact. This thought inspires and fuels all of my work.
I am obsessed with traces. It is like a 4000-year-old piece of pottery with a fingerprint on it; nothing can beat that feeling of discovery, nothing in the world.
My artwork is about creating artifacts and telling stories my own way.
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| BIOGRAPHY |
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Paul Mardikian was born in France in 1963 and spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris. The artist always felt that "abstraction" was a state of mind, a particular way to look at the world and comprehend its substance. At the age of 25, while studying archaeology and conservation science at the School of the Louvre and the Sorbonne University, Mardikian developed his own painting techniques and tools that he now uses to convey his feelings through abstract painting. Mardikian’s training in art restoration offered him a precious understanding of the chemical, physical, and optical properties of paint. Working with paint and shaping it into a unique, non-representational form of expression has been a revelation to the artist. Two types of artwork emerged beginning in 1988 - small and medium sized icon paintings on wood and the larger paintings on canvas.
From prehistoric sites in Europe to the shipwrecks of the Titanic and the Hunley submarine, Mardikian’s career in conserving archaeological artifacts has fueled his inspiration. The opportunity to become directly connected to the past, to discover and preserve the fragile remains of ancient civilizations, has left a permanent mark on his artwork. “Interpreting abstract traces of humanity such as imprints, traces of fire, tracks, trash, brush stokes, graffiti, and scarifications left by a human being on any given substrate are part of this iconography. Those traces, whether intentional or inadvertent, are symbolic of the temporary physical presence of a person in the flux of time.”
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| EDUCATION |
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M.Sc., Paris Sorbonne University, France, 1991, Conservation Science and Techniques. Specialization in Conservation of Terrestrial/Marine and Archaeological/Industrial Heritage.
Maîtrise de Sciences et Techniques en Conservation-Restauration du Patrimoine Culturel.
M.A., School of the Louvre, Paris, France, 1989, Conservation and Museology.
Diplôme Etudes Supérieures de L’Ecole du Louvre.
B.A., School of the Louvre, Paris, France, 1987, Archaeology and Art History. Diplôme d’Ancien Elève.
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| REPRESENTATION |
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Corrigan Gallery
62 Queen St.
(843) 722 9868
Charleston 29401
South Carolina
USA
www.lesecorrigan.com |
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| SOLO EXHIBITS |
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2010 "PALIMPSEST"
Corrigan Gallery, Charleston SC, USA.
2008 "TOTEMS AND ICONS"
Corrigan Gallery, Charleston SC, USA.
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| GROUP EXHIBITS |
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2009
"Next Is Always Relative" Corrigan Gallery, Charleston SC, USA.
"NEUTRAL AND BEYOND" Corrigan Gallery, Charleston SC, USA.
2008
"The Art of Healing" The Contemporary Carolina Collection, Ashley River Tower, Medical University of South Carolina. Charleston SC.
"Kulture Klash" Art Show, 10 Storehouse Row In the Navy Yard. North Charleston SC.
2007
"A taste of France" Coco's Cafe and gallery. Mt Pleasant South Carolina.
"Some of Us" Peggy Howe Studio, Mt Pleasant South Carolina.
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| ARTICLES |
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http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A40632
http://www.carolinaarts.com/208corrigangal.html
http://www.consulfrance-atlanta.org/spip.php?article1364
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/the-corrigan-gallerys-latest-is-pleasantly-eclectic-and-risky/Content?oid=1215785
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| OTHER INFO |
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Man Ray Statement
"I am an old man now
In sixty years you can do a lot of work.
I did a lot of things in sixty years,
my paintings, my photography, my objects.
I change all the time.
I have periods were I do one thing
then for a few years
I do something else.
I am a free man.
I do not work for a padrone, or a boss.
I am indifferent to things
that do not interest me.
But never would I attack them.
Especially in the creative arts.
Because I say anybody who does creative art
is a sacred person.
I do not care what he does.
Whether he paints academic pictures
or he is modern
or different
from anything else.
He cannot do any harm.
Whereas a bad politician
or a bad doctor
or a bad cook
can kill you!"
(Thank you, Man Ray.)
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| SCHOOL INFO |
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