Untitled 017 1965

Curator: Here we have Edward Avedisian’s “Untitled 017” from 1965. It's a vibrant piece employing mixed media, primarily acrylic on canvas. Editor: It hits you immediately with its colours, right? The playful collision of green, pink and plum… like neon vines wrestling in twilight. Curator: Yes, it's a chaotic yet strangely ordered composition. These confident brushstrokes slicing through the space. Tell me, what do you see in his technique, in how he’s laid down these lines? Editor: Well, immediately it makes me consider how accessible the medium is, and it’s also a signifier of the era of mass-produced colors, these really poppy hues. I love the visible effort here; you can see where he paused, the drips and uneven layers. He isn't hiding the labor of his work; if anything he emphasizes it. There is some definite interplay between revealing and obscuring on this piece. Curator: Indeed. There’s a definite rhythm; Avedisian invites us to consider the gestures, almost dancing, but without any expectation of arriving at a precise narrative. Some have linked Avedisian's work with the legacy of Abstract Expressionism, would you agree? Editor: Partially, maybe even superficially. While it rejects figuration, its bold directness sets it apart. Think of those vast canvases splattered by Pollock… Avedisian feels contained, more deliberately crafted, somehow more…urban. I suspect his influences, or perhaps aspirations, reach for something new in his world: maybe he saw Pop art transforming how painting exists on a material and cultural level. What are your closing thoughts? Curator: Well, I appreciate how it defies easy categorization, which in a way is exactly the point. It is a refreshing experience in our world of images; “Untitled 017” becomes an opportunity to surrender to a feeling without needing an explanation. Editor: I like your note there. Avedisian seems to have held the making of this, and the commercial contexts, simultaneously. It feels radical and very clever to engage both worlds.