For Immediate Release:  February 20, 2007
Contact:  Marsha Nishi Mullan    
610-328-8535     
http://www.swarthmore.edu/news/

Paintings and Drawings by Ananian
to Be Exhibited in List Gallery

"Michael Ananian, Two Voices," an exhibition of narrative figure paintings and drawings will be featured in the List Gallery, Lang Performing Arts Center, at Swarthmore College from Thursday, March 8, through Saturday, April 7. Michael Ananian will lecture about his work on Thursday, March 8, at 4:30 p.m. in the Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema. An opening reception will follow in the List Gallery from 5:30 to 7 p.m. 

The exhibit, talk and reception are free and open to the public. List Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. For more information, please call 610-328-7811; for directions to the College, call 610-328-8001.

Ananian's narrative figure paintings have been described as gritty, expressive, and painterly forms of realism. Building upon his long-term concern with interpersonal dramas in both the workplace and intimate settings, Ananian's "Two Voices" series employs a split-screen device to convey simultaneous events. Arranged chronologically, the works tell the story of a man and woman preparing to meet. Working in casein on paper, Ananian richly textures his painting surfaces through a process of rubbing, scratching, scumbling, and re-painting. His vigorous marks contribute to the drama of his psychologically-charged narratives. Also on display, paintings from his "Quid Pro Quo" series and drawings from his "Expectations" and "Desires" series explore themes of depravity, conflict, and desire.

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Ananian received his M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art. He has had solo exhibitions at a variety of institutions throughout the U.S. including Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia; William Carey College on the Coast in Gulfport, Miss.; Hackett/Freedman Gallery in San Francisco; California Peninsula Fine Arts Center; Halsey Gallery in Newport News, Va.; and Lyons Wier Gallery in Chicago. He has twice won the John Koch Prize from the National Academy Museum in N.Y., which is awarded to the best figurative painter under the age of 35. He is an associate professor of painting at University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Currently, he is the 2007 Frances Niederer Artist-in-Residence at Hollins University.

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