Myth, Flesh, and Three Paintings by Charles Garabedian

HYPERALLERGIC
By Thomas Micchelli

Charles Garabedian, “Stigmata” (2014), acrylic on paper, 72 x 45 3/4 inches

NEW YORK---There is a small exhibition in memory of Charles Garabedian (1923 – 2016) currently at Sidecar, the adjoining annex space of Betty Cuningham Gallery on the Lower East Side. The three paintings, all acrylic on paper and fairly large — ranging from three to six feet in height — were made within the last 13 years of the artist’s life. “Stigmata” (2014) is the most recent and perhaps the oddest of the three: it is dominated by the figure of a woman, her back turned, her head thrown back, her fingers dug deeply into her hennaed locks as she stares skyward at the crucified Jesus hovering above her like a helicopter. [link]