Zarouhie Abdalian's 2017 LAXART Exhibition Explores Labor, Nature, and Violence Through Sculpture

Zarouhie Abdalian presented an exhibition at LAXART in Los Angeles from July 30 to September 2, 2017. The show featured sculptural works from 2017, including 'brunt (i–vii)'—seven tarnished steel tool-heads on white plinths—and 'Chalk Mine Hollow (i–xii),' delicate Hydrocal casts taken from a chalk mine surface. A sound piece created with Joseph Rosenzweig, 'threnody for the millions killed by silicosis,' referenced a Mississippi mine closed in 1912 due to silica inhalation disease. Black-and-white photographs magnified chisel edges, while bent steel and aluminum tools displayed forces of nature. Abdalian's work juxtaposed industrial materials with fragile impressions, prompting reflections on labor, environmental impact, and human exploitation of nature. The exhibition avoided direct political commentary, instead abstracting themes of violence and power dynamics. ArtReview published a review by Jonathan Griffin in October 2017, noting the show's capacity to evoke both micro and macro scales of socio-political issues.