Composition I, 1943, by Arshile Gorky sold at Christie’s famous auction house for $2.6 million. Photo provided by Darla McCammon.

By Darla McCammon
and DeeAnna Muraski
Guest Columnists

WARSAW — As a young Armenian, Arshile Gorky, remembered excruciating details of how he and his family suffered through the horrors and cruelties during the ethnic cleansing of the Ottoman Empire. Gorky recalled how masses of armed forces were sent into his small village on the eastern Ottoman border. The genocide filled Gorky with bitter and emotional memories that explained how, and why, he left Armenia to become one of the most famous painters in the United States.

Gorky and his family survived the ravages of the genocide for the most part, but he watched friends and relatives, including his mother, who died of malnutrition, suffer and perish. His father had deserted the family earlier and avoided the military draft of the Turks by moving to America. Gorky was impacted a great deal by the brutality he had experienced along with losing both parents. In 1920, he protected himself and his sister by immigrating to America, taking his self-taught art abilities with him.

Once he arrived in the United States, he enrolled in Boston’s School of Design and rapidly made friendships with such artists as Paul Cezanne. Previously, Gorky had worked in abstract expressionism. This style deviates from reality to evoke the emotions and feelings that events (or objects) emit. A perfect style for someone with a very tumultuous past. However, upon meeting Cezanne and seeing his work, Gorky admired his inventive post-impressionist influence and began to incorporate those same techniques, including light and color studies, in his own work.

His next step in developing his abilities and befriending other artists came when Gorky moved to New York. Here he made acquaintances with the bustling, thriving art community. Innovations by such artists as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and others were significant influences on Gorky. He made many lifelong friends and continued his studies of art. It did not take long before his work began to be recognized, including through such prestigious exhibits as the Museum of Modern Art and his first solo exhibit.

Gorky went on to develop a style uniquely his own. Many other artists followed his lead and began incorporating what was called abstract expressionism into the most current style in New York and then elsewhere. He was able to pull from the tragedies of his life to project them onto the canvas. His legacy left behind an enviable collection of work by a genius. His life was fascinating and art was his reimbursement for all the sorrows he had experienced.

Events

Farther afield: Indianapolis Museum of Art Galleries at Newfields. “Threads of Connection,” opening ceremony, 6-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10. The exhibition highlights powerful artwork and textiles of female artists, as well as their history, symbolism and process.

Warsaw City Hall: “Pierceton Picker — Dave Taylor” is exhibiting his found art now through December. Watch as this garage sale art gets purchased, restored and repurposed.

Taproot Brewhouse in Pierceton: 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, join the fun and make a thunder gourd. Come back at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, for an acrylic painting class. For questions, call: (260) 610-6644.

Darla McCammon is an artist, columnist and author, and DeeAnna Muraski is executive director of Operation Read USA Inc. For information, call (574) 527-4044 or send an email to [email protected].