Charles Garabedian's 're:GENERATION' exhibition showcases idiosyncratic works on paper

Charles Garabedian's exhibition 're:GENERATION' features a selection of works on paper, including the 2013 painting 'Beauty', described as one of the ugliest in the show. This piece depicts a naked pink figure trapped in a panoramic, coffin-like composition on six conjoined sheets, with elongated torso and folded legs. Another work, 'Blue Lipstick' (2013), portrays a figure with cyanotic features, while 'Giotto's Tree' (2012) shows an armless woman entangled in a sapling. Garabedian, aged eighty-nine and based in Los Angeles, began painting in his early thirties and has maintained a prolific, restless practice, never adhering to contemporary fashions or conventional notions of beauty. He was included in Marcia Tucker's 1978 'Bad' Painting exhibition at the New Museum in New York. The exhibition includes pieces like 'Full Frontal' (2012), where a woman is half-hidden behind a floral design from her dress, with a face inscribed at belly height, and vibrant backgrounds that distract from the subjects. Two vertical paintings depict the story of Salome, featuring holes in the ground and an unremarkable portrayal of the icon. Garabedian's work emphasizes visual storytelling, with beauty found in unpredictable moments and the thrill of incomprehension. The exhibition's title was reportedly chosen with help from a friend. The review was first published in the Summer 2013 issue of ArtReview.