Vahakn Arslanian (b. 1975, Antwerp, Belgium) was raised in New York City and began painting and working with glass at an early age. Deaf from birth and fascinated by the chaotic beauty of shattered glass, Vahakn found in his art both a route for his imaginative vision and a means of exploring the equilibrium between destruction and creation. His work frequently employs glass—sometimes broken, sometimes intact—as well as found or acquired objects like antique window sashes and hardware, massive airliner cockpit windows, lightbulbs, and even jet-engine fans. The images he places in and on the spaces thus created depict his vision of beauty and absurdity: a bird with a subway car for a beak, a candle with too many flames, a flock of tiny Boeing jets converging on the vortex at the center of a shattered window. Vahakn Arslanian’s work has been shown at multiple solo exhibitions in London, Antwerp, Geneva, St. Barthélemy, and his native New York City, as well as in numerous group exhibitions, including the St. Moritz Art Masters. His collaboration with Julian Schnabel, “The Ones You Didn’t Write—The Maybach Car,” was displayed on the Grand Canal during the Venice Biennale. He has exhibited with Tripoli Gallery since 2013, and was featured in the two-person show, Hangar: Vahakn Arslanian & Lauren West at the East Hampton Airport. Vahakn divides his time between his studios in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and Petite Saline, St. Barth.
Flame Up Bird ,
2005
Graphite on paper and burned paper
8.25 x 6.25 inches
(21 x 15.9 cm)
Bee (side 1),
2017
Nail polish on paper in artist stand
9.5 x 18 x 8 inches
(24.1 x 45.7 x 20.3 cm)
Red Bird ,
2004
Oil on canvas and graphite on paper
6 x 4 inches
(15.2 x 10.2 cm)
Triptych ,
2012-2013
oil on canvas and graphite on paper
66 x 91 inches
(167.6 x 231.1 cm)
Spring Of Rain ,
2018
Oil on canvas and nail polish on paper
72.5 x 50 inches
(184.2 x 127 cm
Flaming Up Bird ,
2009
Graphite on paper and burned paper
9 x 9 inches
(22.9 x 22.9 cm
Subway Bird ,
2005
Graphite on paper
8.25 x 6.25 inches
(21 x 15.9 cm
Short Candle Bird ,
2004
Graphite on paper
8.75 x 6.75 inches
(22.2 x 17.1 cm
Short Candle Left ,
2008
Graphite on paper and burned paper
12.75 x 5.75 inches
(32.4 x 14.6 cm)
Bird Candle ,
2004
Graphite on paper
7.5 x 5 inches
(19.1 x 12.7 cm)
Untitled ,
2004
Graphite on paper
7.5 x 5.5 inches
(19.1 x 14 cm)
From Now To Past ,
2005
Graphite on paper
7.25 x 5.25 inches
(18.4 x 13.3 cm)
Boeing Of Turkish (side 1),
2016
Nail polish on paper in airplane windshield
24.5 x 45 x 17 inches
(62.2 x 114.3 x 43.2 cm)
Worried Bird ,
2005
Graphite on paper
9 x 6.5 inches
(22.9 x 16.5 cm)
Bitch ,
2007
Graphite on paper
8 x 6 inches
(20.3 x 15.2 cm)
Boeing Of Exit (side 1),
2018
Nail polish on airplane emergency exit door
43.25 x 23 x 12 inches
(109.9 x 58.4 x 30.5 cm)
Candle Bird Head ,
2003
Nail polish on paper and oil on paper
15.5 x 19.5 inches
(39.4 x 49.5 cm)
Blue Of Flights ,
2012
Graphite on paper and oil on canvas
23.75 x 35.75 inches
(60.3 x 90.8 cm)
MD Light Up (side 1),
2018
Graphite and nail polish on paper
27.25 x 28 x 10 inches
(69.2 x 71.1 x 25.4 cm)
Light Bird Head ,
2008
Graphite on paper and burned paper
7.75 x 6.25 inches
(19.7 x 15.9 cm)
Candle Bird Head ,
2003
Oil on canvas and graphite on paper
18 x 14 inches
(45.7 x 35.6 cm)
From Now To Past ,
2005
Graphite on paper
7.25 x 5.25 inches
(18.4 x 13.3 cm)
Magic Up ,
2009
Oil on canvas and graphite on paper
11 x 9 inches
(27.9 x 22.9 cm)
Fan Of Classic Airlines ,
2017
Nail polish on paper
14 x 32 inches
(35.6 x 81.3 cm)
Red Bird ,
2003
Oil on canvas
9 x 11 inches
(22.9 x 27.9 cm)
Jet Of Jetliners (side 1),
2017
Nail polish on jet engine fan
39 inches diameter x 9 inches depth
(99.1 cm diameter x 22.9 cm depth
Head Light Up ,
2008
Graphite on paper and burned paper
5.75 x 7.75
(14.6 x 19.7 cm)
DC-8 Jet (side 1),
2013
Nail polish on paper in airplane cockpit window
29 x 24 x 8 inches
(73.7 x 61 x 20.3 cm)
Bird ,
2002
Oil on canvas and graphite on paper
13 x 9.5 inches
(33 x 24.1 cm)
Boeing Of Exit (side 2),
2018
Nail polish on airplane emergency exit door
43.25 x 23 x 12 inches
(109.9 x 58.4 x 30.5 cm)