Patterns of Behaviour - John Koyounian

In An Attempt To Be Free

September 28 - October 22, 2016

Opening Reception:  

September 29th, 7-9 pm

What initially started as form of meditation quickly evolved into a creative body of work that is both narrative and totemic in its appearance.  

I was trying to stretch my creativity using an almost random subconscious approach.  I would react in an almost intuitive manner to a series of lines that would be the foundation of the artwork. 


So much of my work has always had a narrative underpinning and that is something that is a constant platform from which much of my works are derived. The images are still very much snapshots of a moment that the viewer is a witness to. I hope the work is engaging and the viewer gets lost both in the patterns and at the same time connect with the narrative elements of these works.

Each line/shape dictated the evolution of the image. It was as if the lines themselves revealed the image that was hidden on the surface of the page.

Kiss

Pledge

The development of patterned forms encircling the figures is an approach that allowed me to break out of the traditional approach to a narrative. The gestural lines/forms in many ways also are reflective of urban graffiti. There is no horizon line or sense of space in a traditional manner, yet there is still a sense of perspective/depth in the imagery. Shapes intertwine with the figures and create a frame that is both decorative and at times symbolic. Familiar objects that have become motifs in my approach once again manifest themselves in this new body of work. 

Although this approach to the creative process is somewhat new for me it is very much in keeping with much of my concerns and reflective of the visual language that has dominated much of my career as a practicing artist.